The Gate Master
by Pirate Writer
Summary: Hailey Potter has always been able to travel across time and space. She has been visiting Monkey D Luffy since she was 5. What will the fate of both worlds be when combined with the Will of D and the tricky Potter Luck? Will their friendship survive?
1. Chapter 1

Another HP/OP crossover. Female Harry.

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><p><strong><span>The Gate Master<span>**

**Chapter 1**

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><p>Monkey D Luffy stared at the young girl next to him. Her long black hair hung down past her shoulders in messy knots and her pale skin was adorned in purple bruises. She was twelve years old, and would only be staying for a short while as she was home from her school for the summer holidays and she was supposed to be doing chores for her uncle. This had become the routine since she had started school when she was eleven. Luffy only ever saw her on her holidays now, whereas when they were younger they saw each other almost every week. They had been seeing each other since he was six and she was five.<p>

Her name was Dawn, and it was Luffy who gave her that name as she hadn't known her own. Since attending school though, she discovered that her name was Hailey Potter, but Luffy never called her that and she never asked to be addressed as Hailey. Luffy pulled his gaze away from her and returned it to the ocean in front of him. His seventeen year old brother Portgas D Ace was finally leaving on his pirate adventure and Luffy wanted to see him off. Having known the day, Dawn was determined to be there for him and even risked the wrath of her uncle to be by his side.

"Three more years," Dawn suddenly whispered. "Are you excited?"

"Yep," Luffy declared as he turned and draped his arm across Dawn's shoulders, leading her back into the forest. "Not only will I finally be able to keep my promise to Shanks, but you will be by my side and together we're going to be the strongest pirate crew to ever sail these seas."

"I've still got five years of school left," Dawn told him as she leant into his one-armed embrace. "I won't be starting with you. I'll have to join you further along the adventure."

"You can stay with me; I'll protect you from your uncle."

"It's not my uncle that I'm afraid of," Dawn protested. "I've told you about my world. I'm supposed to save them for a psycho out for revenge against people without gifts."

"Well they can deal with that weirdo without you; it's not right resting everything on these shoulders of yours. Look at them, if I rest all my weight on them you'll collapse."

To demonstrate he slouched so that she'd have no choice but to take his weight or collapse on the ground. However, Dawn had been training with Ace and Luffy at every chance she could and as such she knew how to throw him off without too much effort on her part. Luffy landed on the ground with a gasp of shock, having not been expecting the move, and Dawn dusted off her hands with satisfaction.

"So what happened at school this year?" Luffy asked as he got up. "Better than the previous one, or worse?"

Dawn had just completed her second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and it was because of her magical skills that she was able to cross the dimension bridge between her world and his. By thinking really hard, she was able to open a portal and land wherever she wanted. At five years old all she had wanted was a friend and she had opened her first portal, crossed the bridge and ended up appearing out of thin air in front of Luffy. Being the happy go lucky boy that he was, Luffy had accepted it and declared that they were friends. At that moment her name became Dawn as when she appeared the sun was rising, and Luffy declared that her smile was the prettiest he'd ever seen.

She'd stayed with him all day before returning when the sun set. Her uncle hadn't been happy with her, but she quickly decided that when the sun set she would return to Luffy so that she could eat and have a good night's sleep without being afraid to close her eyes. He looked after her, fed her, and introduced her to all his friends. As the years passed she was introduced to the Red-haired Pirates and Luffy's hero Shanks, the Mountain Bandits who were forced to accept custody of Luffy, and Ace and Sabo who became Luffy's brothers. Only once was she introduced to Luffy's grandfather, and despite the man's mean exterior she got along famously with him. The year she turned eleven she confessed to both Luffy and Ace that she wouldn't be around much any longer as he was unsure if she would be able to open a portal at her new school. So far she had completed two years of the school and it was time to describe her second year to her best friend.

"Worse," Dawn explained. "This year involved a black magic diary, a giant snake, a teacher who couldn't teach if his life depended on it, and the entire school blaming me when another student was petrifying my classmates."

"That sucks," Luffy commented. "Why do you go to this school again?"

"My mum and dad went there, and it's the only place I can get to that allows me to learn about this gift I've got."

"Learnt anything?"

"There's a permanent gateway within our ministry that connects to this world, from what I can gather, the runes on the veil look a lot like those Poneglyphs you showed me in a book once," Dawn started to walk again, eager for some food as she hadn't eaten yet. "I may not be able to come back during the day this year, so I'll have to tell you everything now."

"Will you be back for your birthday? I've got a present for you."

"I've got yours too," Dawn smiled brightly. "I made it at school and thought you might like it."

Out of her pocket she pulled a black armband. It wasn't very big but stitched onto the side was a jolly roger wearing a straw hat. Luffy grinned and immediately put it on his right wrist. He marveled at it and swore that it would be his pirate mark once he set out. He could barely take his eyes off it and only removed his gaze when his hat was taken off his head. He glanced at Dawn who had dumped the hat on her head and was dancing around just ahead of him.

"Do you want your present now?" Luffy asked. "I have it with me."

"Of course," Dawn stated with a smile as she twirled. "Then we can go see Makino and get some food."

Luffy nodded at the thought of food, but was concerned at the fact that Dawn was asking for food. She never admitted when anything was bothering her, despite Ace encouraging her to. He also didn't like the look of her bruises, her uncle normally avoided the face, but something must have angered him enough for him to disregard his normal rules. Shaking his head, Luffy vowed to ask about it later and pulled a small box out of his pocket.

Dawn accepted it with a sincere smile and a kiss on his cheek before opening it. She gasped as she pulled out a necklace with a small pendant on the end. The chain was gold, and the pendant was in the shape of a ship. Eagerly she slipped it over her head, the ship falling to her chest, easy to hide under her shirt when she went back to her world.

"It's beautiful Luffy," she whispered. "Where did you find it?"

"Makino helped me pick it out," Luffy admitted, taking her hand and dragging her along the path. "I know you don't like being at that school and, well, I've missed you. When I saw the ship I thought you could use it to remind yourself of me and your home here."

"I love it, and I've missed you too."

The two of them walked in silence the rest of the way, both admiring their presents with fond looks. Their destination was Windmill Village, or more specifically, _Party's Bar_ where Makino worked and they could get some good food. Everyone knew who Dawn was and greeted her happily. She was the only one who would be able to take Luffy's straw hat without him getting possessive and the only one who could calm the energetic boy down.

"Makino! Guess who's here for a visit!" Luffy called as the two of them stepped into the Bar. Makino looked up from where she was cleaning some tables and smiled at the sight of the young girl wearing a straw hat.

"Dawn, welcome back, how was school?"

"Eventful," Dawn replied. Makino came close to them and pulled Dawn into a hug, ignoring the habitual tensing of anyone other than Luffy touching her. She pulled back and looked into her eyes, spotted the bruises and gently touched the wounds.

"Why do you keep going back?" she asked the young girl. "Every time I see you, you have more injuries."

"I'm sure Luffy has explained it," Dawn said, stepping back slightly.

"Yes, and I'm sure that all the adults in your world are idiots," Makino stood up straight and walked over to the bar so that she could prepare some food for them. "What they're thinking when they're asking you to save them. It's beyond me. You're only twelve years old. Why do you have to do it?"

Dawn shrugged and allowed Luffy to pull her to the bar. They had had the same conversation for close to eight years, though for the first six it was because she didn't want to be a burden and didn't want to leave her last living family, despite how cruel they were to her. After that it was because she wanted to learn how to control her magic.

Makino placed two plates on the table and watched as the two of them inhaled what was before them. One inhaled it like a vacuum, barely chewing and looking like an overall slob, whiles the other, much more neatly, consumed the food as if she would never eat anything again. Over the years she had tried to encourage Dawn to slow down when she ate as when she was with them she would never go hungry, but habits engrained from early childhood had taught her that one had to eat quickly lest the food giver becomes a food taker.

"Will you be here for your birthday this year Dawn?" Makino asked once all the food was gone. "We missed the last two years."

"Uncle was afraid that someone was stalking us so we were on a deserted island two years ago for my birthday, I couldn't get away," Dawn explained as she reached for a glass of water. "Last year a magical creature ensured that Uncle was angry enough to knock me unconscious, and then my friend and his brothers rescued me. I was unable to get away again."

"And this year?"

"Aunt Marge is coming in two days so I won't be able to leave then, after that I have no idea."

"I hope you can come," Luffy declared. "I want to have a party with you. Makino can cook all your favourite things and I can decorate. I'm sure Mayor would come and play music with us. Oh, and the other kids will come as well. It'll be fun!"

"I'll try for a while but don't set up a party, you know I don't like them," Dawn stared at Luffy with a frown. "We can have a small picnic up on the cliff, but only for a little while, alright?"

"That's perfect!" Luffy agreed with an endearing grin. Dawn smiled at him and looked back to Makino. The woman was looking at them with a knowing look before moving on to serve other customers.

"How long can you stay today?" Luffy asked curiously. Dawn looked down at her watch sadly.

"Another few minutes but after that I need to leave," she whispered.

"You better be here on your birthday," Luffy said firmly. "I'll have a picnic lunch and everything ready at the hill. Don't be late."

"I'll try," Dawn leant over and hugged Luffy. "See me off?"

Luffy nodded and lead her outside to the beach. She was still wearing his hat so with a sigh she gave it back and nodded when it was finally sitting on his head. He pulled her into his arms, unable to mask his worry. Dawn relaxed in his arms before pushing him away gently.

"I'll see you in a few weeks," she whispered. Luffy nodded and watched as she cut through the air with her hands. The only way he could describe it was as if the very fabric of the air had been shredded leaving behind a gaping black hole. Dawn hesitated briefly before stepping into the tear and letting it close behind her. There was no sign of her even being there in the first place, except for Luffy standing there silently with a worried frown on his face.

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><p><strong>It's short, but something that has been on my computer for a while. Should I continue it?<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**The Gate Master**

**Chapter 2**

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><p>3 Years Later…<p>

"Are we ever going to meet this other crew member?" Roronoa Zoro asked as he, Nami and Usopp reclined in various places onboard the _Going Merry_. "You mention this other person so often that I'm starting to think that she's an imaginary friend of yours."

"She's not imaginary," Luffy announced insulted. "I've known her since I was six! But she's late this year. I'm starting to get worried…"

The last part was said quietly and the normally cheerful boy's face was masked with worry. The three other members of the newly formed Straw-hat Pirates watched him in concern. They had never seen that expression on his face before.

Luffy had been on the water for close to a month now, and it was only a few days ago that he got his ship, the _Going Merry_. Zoro was an aspiring master swordsman, he had yet to lose a fight and he fought with three blades, holding one in his mouth and the other two in his hands. Luffy couldn't wait for Dawn to meet him; there was something fascinating about the way the green-haired man fought. Nami was the next member of his crew, though she claimed that she was only there so that she could steal treasure from other pirates. She was a first-rate thief with a love of money and tangerines. She was also the best navigator in the East Blue. The newest member was Usopp, and while they had only been together for a few days, Luffy had already become familiar with the lies that Usopp couldn't help but sprout off at any given moment.

Each crew member knew that there was another pirate who Luffy had recruited before them, but not one of them had met her yet. Luffy had left Windmill Village in late June, waiting almost two months after he was seventeen before leaving. Dawn finished school at the end of June, and he had waited for her before setting sail. But she hadn't appeared. Makino promised that she would send the girl along when she arrived, but now, close to a month had passed and there was still no sign of her.

Luffy looked up at his pirate mark. As he was terrible at painting and drawing, Usopp had done it for him and now the Jolly Roger wearing a straw hat was visible for the world to see and recognise. Usopp had used Luffy's armband as his guide, being able to copy it a lot better than Luffy's crude imitation of it, and that led into a discussion about where he had gotten it.

"What island does she live on?" Nami asked. "You can't expect for her to find you in the middle of the ocean like we are now. She could be floating around for months with no luck."

"She's always been able to find me," Luffy replied as he tilted his head to the side. "She can See where she wants to be and then appears."

"You've said that before, but what do you mean?" Usopp asked. "Does she have Devil Fruit powers?"

Luffy shook his head and leapt onto his Special Seat, the figurehead of the _Going Merry_. The others sighed as one before returning to whatever it was they were doing before Zoro's question. The swordsman went back to sleep, dreaming of his promise and goal. Nami reclined in her chair, soaking in the sun's rays while Usopp played with his concoctions and created more weapons. Luffy stared across the ocean and contemplated Dawn.

She would have just finished her fifth year at the magic school, and with the Dark Sickos return she would probably be under a lot of pressure from the magic community. When he last saw her she was looking depressed, and he hoped that she hadn't done something stupid, like trying to end her life. He had her present in his pocket; he had found it back in Syrup Village, Usopp's home town. He hoped that she liked it, and he hoped that he would see her soon.

Brushing the thought aside he decided to explore his new ship. Maybe there would be some cannon balls onboard he could play with.

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><p>With Dawn…<p>

Dawn stared at the roof of her bedroom without seeing it. Her sixteenth birthday would be in a few days but she had no interest in what the day meant. Her godfather was gone; he wouldn't be coming back any time soon. He had fallen through the Veil in the Department of Mysteries, and while she knew that the Veil led to Luffy's world, she had no idea whereabouts the man had ended up. She'd wanted to go through after him, but due to the Order she had been restrained. Instead she ran after Bellatrix Lestrange for separating them after finally finding each other after thirteen years of estrangement.

Now she was back at Number 4 Privet Drive and wondering whether or not she should force her presence on a boy she was beginning to like as more than a friend. The necklace he had given her for her twelfth birthday hung from her neck, she never took it off. Over the years he had also given her a charm bracelet which they added to every year since she was seven and last year he had also given her, her own pirate outfit. It was a black skirt which ended just above her knees but still provided her with the ability to move without restriction; mini shorts, also black, to go under the skirt to protect her modesty; a red shirt that stopped above her belly-button but had long sleeves that covered her arms to her wrists; black boots that reached her knees; and a black cape with a hood to cover her completely.

Dawn hadn't worn it yet, it was in her trunk with all her other belongings. During the school year she had made herself a bag that was the size of a purse but had an expanding charm on it so that all her belongings would fit inside it easily. The bag would hang across her chest and rest on her hip, and it was black so that it would blend in with the outfit Luffy got her.

Ever since hearing the prophecy, she had slowly allowed herself to sink into depression. She had always known that it would be her, but to also hear that no one else could do it because they were assured victory if she did it was terrifying. The fate of her world rested on her shoulders and she felt wholly unprepared for it. The only form of training she had ever received was from Grandpa Garp, Ace and Luffy, but that was physical, not magical.

Dawn sat up suddenly. She was a little dizzy as she hadn't been eating again, but she also knew that if she wanted to survived, she would need to go somewhere else. Dumbledore wouldn't train her, the Order wouldn't train her, and Sirius was quite possibly waiting for rescue in Luffy's world. Dawn nodded to herself. This world had done nothing for her. They had left her alone for years and placed all their hopes on her shoulders, and then they had either praised or ridiculed her for something that she had no control over. If they wanted to survive they would have to fix their problems themselves.

She packed all her belongings in her expander-bag, dressed in Luffy's outfit for her, called her beloved owl Hedwig to her shoulder and created a tear to Gringotts…she would need her gold.

Needless to say the goblins weren't happy with what she was planning to do. However, they still assisted her with melting down the gold coins and reshaping them into gold bars that could be stacked into her bag easily. As a failsafe she created another vault where half her fortune would remain, out of reach from anyone looking to take it, and promised the goblins that she would return eventually. They would look after her account for as long as it was required, and ensure that no one other than her would be able to access it.

With that done Dawn and Hedwig disappeared from the wizarding world, not to be seen again for many years.

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><p>Dawn paused in the in-between, Hedwig hooted at her curiously but all Dawn did was shake her head and observe what was going on beyond. Her tears couldn't move, so appearing on a moving ship would be next to impossible, but appearing in the sky so that she could fly was easier as her broom would be all that she needed. Looking down she easily spotted Luffy's ship, its pirate mark making her smile slightly, what could possibly be a marine ship and another ship that looked like a giant fish. Mounting her broom she glided from the in-between and spiraled down to the ship without anyone seeing her.<p>

Hedwig remained on her shoulder, studying what would be her new home for the foreseeable future. The climate was far warmer than she was used to, but Dawn would take care of her as she had always done.

While Hedwig was keeping watch, Dawn stood on the ship's railing and started to search for Luffy. Looking up at the fish-ship she noticed that there was a hole in the roof, and summarized that Luffy had been attacked by the marines and he had miscalculated with his defense and instead the attack was on the fish-ship. Knowing Luffy he would probably take the full blame for the attack and never once think of blaming the marines. She sighed with a fond smile and used her broom to glide to the fish-ship.

As she approached she deduced that it was in fact a restaurant in the middle of the ocean. She dropped her broom into her expander-bag and walked to the entrance. Ahead of her was a pirate, and he was holding a gun at the back of someone's head. The shot made her jump slightly and Hedwig stretch her wings threateningly, but other than that all she did was pause until the pirate walked inside. After that she stood in the doorway to watch what was going on.

It appeared that the pirate was starving as he was demanding food, but the cook in front of him seemed to be more interested in money than customer service. She frowned at him and turned her gaze to the rest of the restaurant. Luffy was instantly visible, his straw hat standing out to her. She considered using her magic to steal it from him, but decided against it as the timing wasn't right.

Cheering brought her attention back to the pirate and the cook, the latter of which was beating the pirate to within an inch of his life. After he was done he dragged the defeated pirate out the back while the customers cheered. Dawn retreated from the restaurant so that she could see what was happening with the hungry man. In the shadows she watched as another cook, this one wearing a nice suit gave the pirate some food and water. Luffy was staring down at them and having a lively conversation about how the cook, Sanji, was going to be a part of his pirate crew.

Dawn noticed that Luffy was still wearing the armband she had made him, and despite her depressed emotional state, she felt happiness. There was no way that Luffy would continue to wear her present if he didn't want to see her anymore. Shortly after, the pirate left and Sanji and Luffy went back inside to work. Dawn waited until they were gone before climbing up to where the owner of the ship appeared to be waiting for her.

"What do you want brat?" he asked as she made it to the roof.

"What agreement did you come to with the straw hat boy?" she asked quietly.

"He will work for one year to pay off the damage he caused."

"He won't do it," Dawn said with a brief laugh. "What was his reply offer?"

"One week."

"How bad was the damage?"

"It'll take a few days for my room to be repaired and my injuries to heal."

"Can't do much about your injuries, I'm no healer, but I could see to the damage to your ship."

"What do you want in return?"

"Let Luffy work for one week, I have a feeling that that pirate who just left will be back with his friends. You'll want Luffy on your side when that happens."

"That's all? You want nothing for yourself?"

"I've got everything I could possibly want, I doubt that there is anything you own that I may want or need. Besides, it's not like I'm going to go to a lot of effort, repairing objects is a fairly simple business."

"Huh, I suppose I can agree to that, but you'll have to fix it first."

"Fair enough, you want me to start now or wait till later?"

"Now's good. I'll show you the room and then go and see what those wannabe chefs are doing."

Dawn smirked and followed the one-legged chef to where the most damage was done. She couldn't help but whistle as she got a close up view of the hole. Hedwig settled on the headboard of the bed and while Dawn was preparing to work her magic, watched as the one-legged chef walked out the door to watch without causing any disturbances. Dawn pulled her wand from her bag and pushed her sleeves up and her cape past her shoulders.

"_Reparo_!"

The owner, Red-foot Zeff, watched in undisguised amazement as the scattered wood from his ship flew back to where it had been before the cannon ball hit it. The young girl waved her stick in circular patterns, repeating the same word over and over again, for several minutes. By the time she was done the wall, and the objects that had been on the wall, were completely repaired. If Zeff hadn't watched it, he would never have believed that there had been any damage to start with.

"Satisfied?" the girl asked. All Zeff could do was nod. He asked her who she was.

"Never before have I seen anything like that, and I have travelled the Grand Line for a year. What I just witnessed is beyond this world."

"My name is Dawn, and I can create tears or gateways if you will, from my world to this world. I am here because Luffy is my friend."

"I wouldn't speak of the gateways so easily child," Zeff warned seriously. "Those in the World Government wouldn't hesitate to silence you, or use your knowledge to take over your world. Keep it a secret from all you don't trust."

"Any who tried to take over my world would die just as easily as I repaired your ship. There is a reason I came here."

Zeff accepted that explanation and led the young girl back to the restaurant. While she had money to pay for her meal, Zeff refused to accept it as she had done him a great service in repairing his room. All he had to do now was make sure that no one else harassed her.

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><p>With Luffy…<p>

Luffy was bored. Sure, it was fun to watch others work, but when he had to work himself he found himself unable to do the simplest chores. Dawn would have been able to do everything that the cooks were asking him to do, but he hadn't been raised knowing what she knew. Washing dishes meant that more dishes were broken than cleaned, sweeping the floor meant getting in the way, and even taking customer's orders was a recipe for disaster. In the end they had him taking out the rubbish, clearing tables and resetting them once they were cleaned.

It was on his forth return to the dining room of the restaurant that he noticed the extra customer. She sat near the window, her back to the wall so that she could see everyone in the restaurant, her hood pulled up over her hair and a snowy owl perched on her shoulder. His nakama were on the other side of the restaurant, and enjoying his hard work while they got to relax, so he didn't worry about them as he approached the table. As she looked up at him he couldn't help the wide smile stretch across his face as familiar green eyes locked with his own.

"My Dawn Angel," he said with a smile, keeping his voice down. "You look like you haven't eaten in a while, again, what would you like to eat?"

Dawn smiled at him and dropped her hood so that they could see each other clearly. She rested her hand on Hedwig's head and introduced them before answering his question and greeting.

"My Knight in a straw hat, the owner of this place is making something for me so do not fear, I will be eating something. As for how I look, it's a long story that can be told later when you're not working. It is a tale too long to tell now."

Luffy nodded with a frown. Her voice was flat, and while she smiled at him, the light he was accustomed to, didn't reach her eyes like it should. He gave Hedwig a gentle pat on the head before looking back at the restaurant. He pointed out his nakama for her, and explained that he would be getting a cook soon so that no one would go hungry on his ship. The cook he was talking about walked over to them soon after and dragged Luffy away so that he could work, after gushing over how beautiful Dawn was. Hedwig hit him in the face with her wing before deliberately turning her face away in a clear dismissal. Luffy was laughing as he left.

He watch as Zeff set down a dish of moderately bland food and a cup of fruit. There was also a plate of dead mice for Hedwig, something that the owl obviously approved of. Dawn's smile told him that she appreciated the food and Luffy's esteem for the old man went up as he could clearly recognise what food a person could handle without becoming sick. Luffy returned to working as a chore boy and vowed to talk to Zeff again to see if he could shorten his sentence. With Dawn waiting for him he didn't want her to be stuck in the restaurant for a whole year waiting for him.

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><p>That night, after everyone had gone to bed, Luffy retreated to the roof of the restaurant where he knew that Dawn would be waiting for him. She had taken her cape off and was using it as a seat so that the coolness of the tiles wasn't seeping into her skin directly. Luffy sat next to her, resting his arm across her shoulders like he always had. She took a shuddering breath at the contact and before he knew it she was crying into his shoulder. He instantly pulled her onto his lap so that he could hold her better and let her cry.<p>

"You know how I always told you that I had to defeat Voldemort?" Dawn started after she calmed down. "Well, I found out that I'm the only one who can do it because of some prophecy that was made before I was born. No one else will try because only with me is victory assured. I don't want to do it. Why does it have to be me?"

"They actually told you that you're the only one who can save them? What idiots. You're not going back. Let them fix that mess on their own. You're going to stay with me."

Dawn looked up at him with watery green eyes and smiled gratefully. Luffy kissed her cheek softly and pulled her back against his chest. She told him everything that had happened that year, including the fiasco at the Ministry of Magic and how Sirius fell through the Veil. She explained how she wanted to find him as she knew that he would be in this world, just not where. In return he promised to help her look for him and told her about his nakama. His ship, the _Going Merry_ was only a few days old and it would be her home soon enough.

By the time everything had been explained it was well past midnight. Staring at the sky Luffy pulled out a small box from his pocket. It was Dawn's birthday present and suddenly he was nervous about giving it to her. She pulled back from his chest and looked at him curiously, and it was from her eyes that Luffy gained his courage.

"I know your birthday is today, July thirty-first, so I would like to give you your present," he began only a little nervous. "We've known each other for eleven years now, and I want to continue to know you for the rest of my life. This present is also a promise to you that I will forever stand by your side, as I hope you will stand by me. Whatever your decision, I will always call you my best friend."

Dawn watched him with wide eyes as he handed over the small box. She had an idea as to what he was saying, but it wasn't until she opened the box and saw a gold ring adorned with an emerald and two smaller rubies either side that it registered what he was asking for.

"Are you asking me to marry you?" she asked.

"Yes," Luffy replied without hesitation. "I am going to be the Pirate King, and there would be no one I'd rather have beside me as my Queen than you. This is my promise to you. You will never be alone again, and I will never abandon you or turn you away."

Dawn pulled the ring from the box almost reverently and stared at it. While it was light, the weight of what it symbolized made her hand shake. All her life she had been considered a burden by her relatives, something that was a waste of space. In the wizarding world she was their hero, until they discovered something that didn't fit their image of her, and then they all turned on her. Her friends at Hogwarts had all turned their backs on her at one stage or another, whether it was jealously or fear it didn't matter. Never before had she been accepted for exactly who she was, except for when she was with Luffy.

With fresh tears in her eyes she slipped the ring onto her left hand and kissed Luffy's cheek.

"I believe you," she whispered into his ear. "And for as long as I live I will stay by your side and help you achieve your dream. Just, don't leave me."

Luffy stood up with her in his arms and spun them both around in happiness. When he stopped spinning, under the light of the full moon, he kissed her in a way that made her feel completely safe. With Luffy, she would be free.


	3. Chapter 3

**The Gate Master**

**Chapter 3**

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><p><strong>Three Days Later…<strong>

It had been three days since Luffy and Dawn shared their first real kiss on the roof of the Baratie. The next morning Luffy introduced Dawn to his nakama and she spent the day getting to know them whilst Luffy worked. Luffy had apparently collected two bounty hunters on his travels as they were on the _Going Merry_ as well. The two bounty hunters were Zoro's friends and they told her all kinds of stories of Zoro when he was a pirate hunter. The three pirates on the other hand had been really surprised when Luffy introduced her to them, and Dawn discovered that they hadn't believed her to be a real person.

She had used a glamour charm on her ring so that only she and Luffy could see it. Luffy wanted to tell everyone, but agreed that he would keep quiet about it until she was ready for others to know. He was just happy knowing she agreed to marry him.

Usopp told fantastic stories, not all of them possible, but he spent hours talking about his home and how he had met Luffy. Nami had Sanji wrapped around her little finger as he kept giving her free food; as such she was almost always inside the restaurant whilst the boys remained on the _Merry_. At first Zoro had been distant with her, preferring to watch her than to join in with the others, but as the days passed he became more vocal around her. She knew that he was measuring her up, watching to see if she would be a threat to his captain or nakama. Dawn did the same thing so she wasn't insulted, merely pleased that her fiancé had found a loyal crew.

In the afternoons she would talk with Zeff on the Baratie about the state of the world and read the newspapers he had collected to see if there was any clue about Sirius' whereabouts. It was on the third morning that she found even a hint of Sirius' whereabouts, and that was in the middle of the paper, a footnote off to the side that she wouldn't have noticed if it hadn't been for a picture of her godfather next to it.

Apparently the Veil in her world led to a prison in this world, a place known as Impel Down. The Veil depleted the magical core of any witch or wizard that was thrown through so that there wouldn't be any chance of escape from the prison. They Veil hadn't been used in many years, but every so often a prisoner would appear and they would usually die within the year. Dawn went pale after reading that and hoped that Sirius would still be alive when she broke him out. If he died before that she would find a way to bring him back just to kill him herself.

She didn't tell anyone about what she had found, but she did ask to keep the paper. Zeff allowed it and she dropped it into her expander-bag instantly. Outside a fog had rolled in, and Hedwig had taken to sitting on her shoulder instead of flying around. Dawn often cast a cooling charm on the owl as her feathers weren't suitable for the climate.

Approaching the afternoon a giant ship that looked like it was falling apart came into view. As Dawn was with Zeff at the time she was the only one who heard him identify the ship as the _Dreadnaught Sabre_, the flagship of Don Krieg. The pirate from a few days earlier had been one of Don Krieg's henchmen. Zeff nodded at her at her whispered "I knew it" before slowly making his way to the dining room to greet the oncoming pirates.

Dawn followed him but instead of going to the dining room she went to the _Going Merry_ where the Straw-hat Pirates and two bounty hunters were waiting. She nodded to everyone as she appeared on the ship's railings and watched as the ship got closer. Zoro and Usopp left the _Merry_ to provide back-up for Luffy if he needed it, not that anyone believed that he would. Johnny and Yosaku, the two bounty hunters, remained behind and Dawn had to wonder about how they had become bounty hunters in the first place. They were true cowards at heart. Nami also remained, but her attention was focused more on a bounty poster she had nicked from Johnny and Yosaku than the approaching events.

After several minutes of silence there was a stampede of customers hurrying to escape the Baratie, and Dawn wondered distantly if any of them had paid for the food they had consumed. She doubted it, but as she didn't own the restaurant it didn't concern her. The skin on the back of her neck prickled and she turned her gaze from the Baratie to the open ocean. A small boat was approaching calmly, and on it one man sat. She shivered for some reason and turned to ask Nami who she thought the newcomer was, only to see her pushing the two bounty hunters into the water.

The Navigator's eyes fell on her, and Dawn wondered what was running through her mind.

"I need this ship, and I'd prefer not to take anyone with me, so I can either throw you overboard or you can get off yourself."

Dawn nodded and brought Hedwig to her arm. She whispered that she wanted her to follow the ship and when Nami arrived at wherever she was going, come back and report. For good measure she cast another cooling charm that would last a while and let the owl fly off. With that done she walked to the railing to jump off, but before she did she turned to Nami.

"I don't know what you're afraid of, but Luffy considers you his nakama. Wherever you go, he will follow you and bring you back. When you agreed to travel with Luffy, you also agreed to let him protect you no matter what. Remember that wherever you're going."

With those words of wisdom she leapt onto her broom that she had pulled from her expander-bag and flew to the deck of the Baratie. When she looked back at Nami, she saw that the older girl had tears in her eyes but also a determined stance. They would be seeing each other again.

Two minutes later, as Johnny and Yosaku swam towards the restaurant, the _Dreadnaught Sabre_ capsized violently. The ensuring winds knocked her off her feet as the waves did their best to also bring the Baratie to the bottom of the ocean. Screams from the men who were onboard the flagship outweighed the sounds from the explosions, and Dawn tried to stand to see what she could do to help. She saw the small boat from earlier had come a lot closer.

"Dawn! Are you alright? Where's the _Merry_?"

Dawn turned to see Luffy running towards her and allowed him to pull her into his arms. She pointed to where the _Merry_ was and then down into the water where Johnny and Yosaku were struggling against the waves. Luffy used his rubber abilities to grab the two men and they in turn told the story of how Nami stole the ship. Dawn nodded when they were done to show that she agreed with their tale. Since the boat that Johnny and Yosaku used was still tied to the Baratie, Luffy ordered all the males to go after Nami, but requested that Dawn stay with him so that he would know where to go once he had finished with the other pirates.

That plan was agreed to, until Zoro saw who had destroyed the _Dreadnaught Sabre_. The green-haired swordsman had been looking for the Greatest Swordsman in the world, and that was the identity of the man in the small boat…Dracule Mihawk. Zoro loosened his three swords on his waist in preparation for the upcoming fight. Dawn held Luffy's hand tightly in her own as he watched his nakama get slaughtered. Luffy would never interfere, but that didn't mean he didn't care.

"This is his choice," she whispered so that only Luffy and Sanji who was also nearby could hear her. "He will never get stronger unless he sees exactly how far he has to go until he can be the best. Give him this chance."

Usopp, Johnny and Yosaku all boarded the small boat and started to head to where Zoro was fighting, no one stopped them. However, once Zoro was struck down and fell into the water, it was then that Luffy demonstrated his Devil Fruit powers and flew over to where Mihawk was. Johnny and Yosaku pulled Zoro from the water and pronounced him alive, much to everyone's relief. After that the four boys sailed off after Nami, and Mihawk disappeared back to the Grand Line.

That was when things really got interesting.

While Zoro had been fighting, the henchmen of Don Krieg had regrouped with the intention of taking the Baratie as their new ship. Luffy rocketed over to Zeff and proposed a new agreement, one where he would beat the pirates and he would be free to go. Zeff looked quickly at Dawn before nodding his agreement. Sanji ordered the fins to be lifted from the water so that they would have somewhere to fight that wasn't inside the restaurant.

The Baratie was a floating restaurant for fighting cooks. They weren't afraid to use their fists against people who insulted their cooking skills or pirates who didn't know how to take no for an answer. However, the pirates they were used to fighting were obviously significantly weaker than Don Krieg's pirates as the cooks were all defeated soundly. Dawn stayed back with Zeff, her wand in her hand, and watched with intrigue.

Sanji then chose to demonstrate his own unique fighting style by easily defeating the pirates with his feet. She was impressed with the cook's acrobatics and his leg strength. It would have taken him years to train his body to fight in that way without injuring himself. His skills were further tested when a fat man crawled up onto the deck wearing the most ridiculous armor that Dawn had ever seen. His name was Pearl. Luffy had gotten himself up the mast of what was left of Don Krieg's flagship and was focused on watching Sanji, instead of Krieg who he was supposed to be fighting. With his inattention Krieg broke the mast that Luffy was on and sent the straw hat wearing boy flying towards the Baratie.

Dawn took his hat from his head, ignoring his frown, and told him that she didn't want to have to listen to him whine about a tear he had gotten in it because it had gotten in the way during the fight. His frown disappeared and he nodded at her before turning back to Pearl, who had gotten a nose bleed from where Luffy had landed on him. The fat man decided that it was a war-wound and set himself on fire in his rage. Dawn ducked out of the way, standing next to Zeff once again with a shield spell on her lips, waiting to be cast.

As attentive as she was of the fight in front of her, she never considered anyone coming up behind her. She only survived because at the last second she turned to see who was sneaking up on her. She was sent flying as the shot from a gun echoed around the suddenly silent battle field. She staggered forward and dropped to her knees, blood dripping from her arm where the bullet had lodged itself, instead of in the center of her chest where it had originally been aimed. Zeff was also sent flying to the ground and the gun pointed at his head.

Dawn wished she knew some healing spells, but her education had only taken her to fifth year. Healing spells were all NEWT level and she would have started them if she planned on going back to school. As such she didn't plan on ever returning. She turned to look at the man who had shot her, and recognised him as the pirate from several days ago. Sanji called him Gin.

"Dawn!"

"I'm alright! Don't worry about me!"

Dawn sat up straight, her right hand covering her wound. She stared up at Gin and wondered how much damage she could inflict on him without killing him. Luffy had spent hours telling her about how he would run his pirate crew, and how much it irritated him that other pirates didn't care about their nakama. Killing would always be a last resort. With than in mind Dawn pointed her wand at the man and sent a slug-belching curse at him. Unlike when Ron had tried it in their second year at school, this one actually worked at Gin was forced to stumble backwards as slugs started to crawl up his throat from his stomach.

"Oh that's gross," Sanji muttered.

"Commander!"

"What was that?"

"Where'd those slugs come from?"

"Gin!"

"Nasty," Luffy commented, his tongue sticking out. "You couldn't think of anything else Dawn?"

"He shot me," Dawn replied. "Focus on your own fight. I got things covered over here."

Luffy nodded and turned back to Krieg who was staring at Gin in horror. The man's gaze snapped to Dawn as she stood up and helped Zeff stand as well. In that instant he decided that Dawn would be a part of his crew no matter what he had to do to bend her to his will. His grin had Luffy narrowing his eyes but before those two could fight Sanji demonstrated the power of his legs by knocking Pearl unconscious and cracking his armor. The cook relit his cigarette and stared at Krieg curiously, wondering what he was going to do next.

"She will be mine," Krieg declared. "A girl with power like that! I will make her a part of my crew and together we'll rule all the oceans of the world!"

"She'll never work for you!" Luffy snapped back. "She's already a part of my crew! She's my nakama!"

"I'll kill you first Straw-hat," Krieg continued. "My power will reach all the corners of the world, and with her by my side no one will be able to beat me!"

Luffy refuted this by charging across the fallen mast with the intent to break Krieg's nose with his fist. Krieg chucked a few bombs into the water to obscure Luffy's vision before sending spike-bullets at him. Dawn winced as several spike-bullets connected with Luffy's body but turned her attention back to Gin and canceled the spell on him. He gasped, finally able to breathe without a slug resting in his throat.

"I don't like being shot, especially from behind."

He looked up at her and flinched from her cold stare. She aimed her wand at him again and sent a _levicorpus_ at his body. Instantly he was hanging upside-down from his ankles and the fear in his eyes was clear. She grinned at him and directed his body over the water before canceling the spell and letting him fall. The resounding splash made her feel better.

While she was cursing Gin, Krieg had decided to torture Luffy by sending a gas bomb at the Baratie where Dawn was. Everyone had about five seconds warning before the small bomb cartridge was fired and poison gas was expelled over the ship and its occupants. Dawn and Luffy locked eyes briefly before she jumped in front of Zeff and Sanji and raised her wand. The gas then hid everyone from view.

The poison took a while to clear, but when it did it was to find that all the cooks had leapt into the ocean to escape, while Zeff, Sanji and Dawn were the only people still on the deck. Surrounding the three of them was a pale shield that acted much like a bubble-head charm in that it only allowed clean air to pass through. All poisonous and non-air substances like water would be unable to touch those who were protected by it. Dawn had found it when she was studying for the Triwizard tournament the year before but had never had to cast it before.

"It worked," she muttered in slight surprise. "Wasn't sure it would. Never done that spell before."

"Incredible," Sanji added. "Who are you?"

"I'm Dawn, and I guess you could say that one day I'm going to be the Queen of the Pirates."

Her seriousness took Sanji aback, but before he could ask any more questions there was an explosion on the other side of the field. All eyes snapped to where Luffy and Don Krieg were, and to the massive spear that Don Krieg held in his hands. The explosion had been caused by the spear as whenever it hit something it would explode. Over and over again Krieg hit Luffy, creating an explosion each time. Dawn gripped Luffy's hat in her hands tightly, her eyes fixated on what she hoped was another of Luffy's spur-of-the-moment plans. Zeff was explaining to Sanji about the type of person that Luffy was and Dawn found she had to agree, to a certain point.

"He does know fear," she whispered to them. "He fears for all the lives he has to protect as he hates seeing anyone hurt. It's that determination to protect what he sees as his that allows him to fight at his best. It's not that he doesn't know fear; it's that he can use his fear to be the best. For as long as I can remember he's been like that."

"Is it instinct, or all a plan?" Zeff mused as they continued to watch Luffy tackle with the exploding spear.

"A combination of both. His instincts form his plans, and while they're not always the best, it always works out in the end."

With that said Luffy destroyed the end of the spear, making it nothing more than a bomb on a stick. The next plan of attack was obviously to break Krieg's golden armor. With confidence in his armor, Krieg didn't move from Luffy's attack and allowed the bloodied fists to fall on him. Despite herself Dawn was impressed that such armor could exist, Luffy's punches were strong and for anything to hold up under that meant that it was near impenetrable.

"Be careful Luffy," Dawn whispered. "You still have to go and get your Navigator back."

Krieg coaxed Luffy up to the top of what used to be a mast, dropping bombs on the way to mess with Luffy's balance and his sight. Yet despite his best attempts, Luffy still landed a solid hit on him and shattered the golden armor. Dawn felt like cheering as the two of them started to fall towards the ocean far below, until Krieg revealed another weapon and trapped Luffy in a wire net. Dawn thought that that was a stupid move as now the two of them were connected. Luffy twisted his body through the wire and wrapped his feet around Krieg's head.

"GIANT HAMMER!"

Krieg smashed into deck, finally unconscious and defeated, while Luffy, still trapped in the net, disappeared under the surface of the water. Dawn discarded her cape, shoes and dropped Luffy's hat instantly so that she could dive in after him. Part of her training with Luffy and Ace had been learning to swim, well, Ace had taught her to swim and Luffy had sat on the shore watching. She applied a bubblehead charm around her face so that she could breathe before swimming down after the net.

She had done this before; Ace had thrown Luffy into the river and ordered her to get him, to see how much she had learnt. That time she hadn't had the bubblehead charm but she had still succeeded. There was no reason that she couldn't this time. She grabbed the net with her left hand and silently cast _diffindo_ on the wire with her wand. Luffy was pretty much a dead weight in the water so she had to really work to get him up before he drowned. A second pair of hands suddenly grabbed Luffy's other side and she looked across to see Sanji smiling at her. She pointed up and together they dragged the Devil Fruit user to the surface.

"He's done that before I gather?" Sanji asked as they reached the surface. He pulled Luffy up onto the deck while she exited the water on her own.

"Yeah, it was accidents like that that taught me to swim as well as I can."

That said she knelt by Luffy's side and pressed her ear to his chest to listen for a heartbeat. Not hearing one she pressed down on his chest, starting CPR and waited for him to show that he was still alive. The seventeen year old coughed up a bit of water before drifting off to sleep. Dawn shook her head and stood to grab her belongings and the straw hat. Her arm was sore but she wanted to make sure that Luffy was comfortable before doing anything else.

Sanji carried him inside and helped her patch up his wounds, and then he cleaned her shoulder and put a bandage on it. She thanked him before lying down on Luffy's side and going to sleep. She had a feeling that she would need all her energy soon. As she closed her eyes she noticed Sanji leaving to go and see to the pirates.

Just before she blacked out Luffy's arm wrapped around her waist. Even unconscious he knew that she was nearby. She went to sleep.

* * *

><p>Dawn woke up to Luffy's scream for his hat. With a sigh she punched his shoulder and thrust his hat at him, eyes still closed. Luffy thanked her before turning to Sanji, who was also in the room again, and talking to him about joining his pirate crew. Knowing that she wouldn't be going back to sleep any time soon Dawn sat up and slipped her boots on. She left her cape behind and instead went outside to search for any sign of Hedwig. She let Luffy know where she was going but before she could leave completely he bounced over to her and kissed her cheek lightly.<p>

"I'm glad you're with me, my Princess."

"Princess?" Dawn smiled at the new endearment.

"Yeah, if I'm going to be King, and you're going to be my Queen, until then you're a princess aren't you?"

"I guess. But that also means that you're a prince," Dawn giggled and leant up to kiss his cheek. "I'm going to look for Hedwig, my Prince. I'll meet you in the dining room shortly."

She could hear Sanji's disappointed sigh after seeing how they acted together, but she wasn't too concerned with that as she had spotted her beloved owl heading towards her. Her smile was bright as she darted into the kitchen where last minute preparations were being made for a late lunch. She spotted Zeff and informed him of Hedwig's return and asking if there were any dead mice waiting to be thrown out. Zeff let her know that he'd get her some and shooed her off. She darted away, but not before grabbing a dish of water.

Outside she didn't have to wait long before Hedwig landed on her arm. By her estimate Hedwig had been flying for about four hours and was more than likely hungry and thirsty. She held up the dish for Hedwig to drink out of, something she did eagerly enough, before asking if she knew where Nami was going. Hedwig nodded and indicated with her wing which direction the Navigator had gone. Dawn explained how the fight had gone as she walked back towards the dining room.

Sanji and Luffy entered before her, and all three of them could only see one empty seat. Sanji and Luffy offered to sit on the floor, and Dawn was shooed away to sit at the table next to Zeff. She made sure that Hedwig was able to enjoy her mice before turning to her own food, and after a whispered warning from Zeff didn't go for the soup. He quickly explained that there would be some bad acting during the meal, but it was all a plan so she shouldn't be alarmed.

Confused, Dawn stuck to the bread, salads and fish and watched the drama unfold. Her appetite disappeared after hearing the cooks tear into Sanji's cooking abilities, and she couldn't help but jump in shock when Zeff punched Sanji. The suit-wearing cook ran off angrily, and all the cooks went to the window to watch what he was doing.

"That was harsh," Dawn commented. Hedwig hooted her agreement. "What were you trying to achieve?"

"He completely snapped," one of the cooks commented softly.

"I've never seen that before, seen him angry, but…"

"Maybe he'll want to leave now."

Dawn shook her head. She could think of many ways a person could be encouraged to leave, and most of them were less hurtful than what she had just witnessed. Luffy appeared at her side to try the soup for himself and commented that he had no problem force-feeding her if she wouldn't eat on her own. Dawn shook her head and put some more food in her mouth. Luffy had carried through with that threat before and she didn't want him to do so again. Her mouth wasn't that big.

The mastermind behind the plan was Zeff, and he had done it because he had seen Sanji explaining to Luffy about the All Blue. He had never seen Sanji happier than when he had been explaining his dream, and it was his belief that the All Blue existed on the Grand Line. He wanted Luffy to take Sanji with him, but Luffy once again demonstrated how much he cared about others. He would never take anyone with him against their will; they had to want to come with him. Unless Sanji asked to come along, then Luffy wouldn't force him.

Zeff agreed with that and Dawn could see the wheels turning in his mind as he tried to think of a way for Sanji to ask to leave. Mere seconds later a pan shark and a man broke through the dining room doors, landing on top of Sanji who had been sitting at the door listening to every word that had been said. The man inside the pan shark was Yosaku, and he brought news of Nami. On her shoulder, Hedwig hooted softly. If Dawn could speak owl she was sure that Hedwig was saying "Oh yeah, forgot about him."

Yosaku begged Luffy to come with him as he believed that Nami was in terrible danger. Luffy agreed and stood to leave. He took Dawn's hand and as they started to leave Sanji stopped them by asking to come with them. He was instantly accepted and then they were all grabbing what they needed for a voyage at sea. Luffy went to the kitchens for the food, and Dawn followed him to make sure that they had what they needed, not what Luffy wanted.

She ordered Luffy to stop packing meat and ask for some other food, before telling the cooks that if they gave him more meat she would make them belch slugs for a day. Zeff appeared behind them with his Log Book, and it was then that Dawn discovered he had documented his journey through the Grand Line. Luffy declined the offer of the Log Book, and when Zeff turned to Dawn she smiled and said:

"Unless you have a detailed description of Impel Down in there, I'm good."

"Why would you want to go to Impel Down?" Zeff asked.

"I'll explain," she said. Over her shoulder she spoke again to the cooks. "If I see that there is any more meat in there I am going to kick your butts. Not everyone eats like a vacuum."

With that done she linked her arm with Zeff's and led him away from the kitchen. She explained the newspaper article she had found, and her theory of the Veil. She also mentioned that she had at most one year before Sirius died in that place, and she wanted to break him out. Zeff nodded thoughtfully before changing direction and leading her to his room. He pulled a chest out from under his bed and opened it to reveal several rolled up charts. He grabbed a thick bundle and passed it over. Opening it, she couldn't help but gasp at the detailed blueprints of Impel Down.

"How did you get these?" she asked as she ran her fingers over the lines. She spread out the charts on the floor, her eyes searching for a sign of where the Veil led.

"When I was a pirate I was attacked constantly by marines. This was one of the treasures I…acquired…from them. I doubt I'd miss them. To be honest I'd forgotten about them until you expressed your interest in going there." Zeff stared at his finger nails before looking back at the girl who had settled on the floor. "However, as I know you don't accept charity, how about you fix my door and we'll call ourselves even?"

"Deal," Dawn muttered. "Ha! There is where I need to get!"

She was pointing to a section on the chart labeled "Level 6". Zeff asked how she knew and she pointed to the ruin just above her finger. She explained that the ruin said "portal" and how it was the only place where there was a ruin like that. The Veil was covered in ruins like that.

"So you can read Poneglyphs then? The World Government finds out about that and you'll be dead as soon as they find you."

"There is a class in my world that teaches us how to read this. Few take it as not everyone is interested in it, but those who can read it would be able to recognise this instantly."

Zeff nodded at that and watched as she rolled up the charts and dropped them into her expander-bag. She then walked out the door and returned to the dining room where she went about fixing the doors that the pan shark and Yosaku had damaged. Behind her Zeff watched silently.

"One more thing," he started once she was done. "I would like you to look after Sanji for me, and I would like an invite to your wedding."

Dawn grinned at him before remarking that "I was thinking of having the reception at this restaurant. You think you and your cooks could handle serving the future Pirate King and his crew? And don't worry about your boy. He'll be fine with us."

Zeff laughed at her and sent her out. Luffy and Yosaku had managed to get the food on board and were just waiting for her and Sanji. Luffy took her hand when she was close enough to him and she smiled up at him. While they were waiting Dawn whispered her wedding conversation to him and he agreed to her idea. By the time Sanji arrived they were more than ready to go.

"Let's go and find Nami!"

* * *

><p><strong>I'm thrilled with the reviews that I've gotten for this fic so far. I've got quite a few ideas about what I want to happen next, but if you guys have an ideas or you want to see something specific, I'd like to hear it. <strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**The Gate Master**

**Chapter 4**

* * *

><p><strong>One day later…<strong>

Trapped on a boat all day with three boys was tiring. Not only was Sanji constantly flirting with her, but with the addition of another crew member Luffy was acting like a three year old on a sugar high. He hadn't been still for more than five seconds, Yosaku appeared to be the only normal male on the small boat, but he couldn't talk to Dawn without going red and mumbling. Dawn was annoyed with it all.

Hedwig seemed to agree with her and had taken to screeching at any of the boys who came too close to her. Luffy didn't mind but Sanji certainly did. Sanji was an excellent cook however, everything he served was wonderful and because her plate was "the most boring" no one else would steal it off her. She had gotten rid of the black cape from her shoulders and dropped it in her expander-bag as the weather was much too nice to be wearing it. Of course, her choice not to wear it made Sanji an even bigger flirt and made Yosaku unable to talk to her at all.

One day after leaving the restaurant Dawn caught her first sight of a Sea King. To her it looked like a giant baby sea-cow, with really sharp teeth. She couldn't help herself and cooed at the animal, reaching out to pet it. It sunk down into the water and allowed her to reach its head.

"It's so cute," she announced, turning to look at the three boys who were staring at her with open mouths. While they were distracted she snatched a plate of meat from the table and tossed it into the sea-cow's mouth. It made a satisfied sound and looked at the table to see if there was anything else to eat.

"You can't keep it," Luffy said with a laugh.

"But he's just a baby!" Dawn said with a smile to show that she understood and was just messing with him. "Look at him!"

Yosaku and Sanji were staring at the two of them horrified. Luffy joined Dawn and used his rubber abilities to pet the sea-cow behind one of his ears. The sea-cow's eyes closed it what appeared to be pure bliss as it slowly sank underneath the waves. Dawn swung her legs over the side of the boat in order to better talk to the animal.

"Hey, could you help us?" she asked. The sea-cow's eyes opened and stared at her curiously. "My friends and I are trying to get to an island in that direction. We're searching for some of our other friends who went on ahead of us. You look pretty fast, could you help us out?"

The sea-cow mooed thoughtfully before sinking completely under the water and moving under the boat. Sanji and Yosaku clung to each other in fear as the boat rose above the surface of the ocean and rested securely between the sea-cow's shoulder blades. Dawn, clinging to Luffy, left the confines of the boat and sat on the sea-cow's head. She praised him and pet him behind his ears now that she could reach. Luffy stood beside her with bent knees and cheered in joy as the speed they were previously traveling at was tripled.

"So what's the plan when we get to Nami?" Dawn asked. "Yosaku told us about Arlong, do you think Nami went to collect a bounty on him?"

"Nope," Luffy answered. The grin slid from his face and he quickly glanced back to where Sanji and Yosaku were still clinging to each other. They weren't paying attention to him or Dawn; instead they were trying to see how high up they were without moving from the centre of the boat. His eyes flickered back to his fiancé and his expression softened.

"You think she's going home then?" Dawn prompted.

"Yeah," this time Luffy sighed. "She hates pirates, loves money and tangerines, but she's distant. It's like she's afraid to care about anyone. You said she was sad when she left the Baratie, so obviously she cared about us. She's afraid of being hurt again."

"What if she doesn't want to be rescued?"

"She does. More than anything she wants to be free of whatever is pulling her back to Arlong Park, but she thinks she has to do it on her own."

"What would you like me to do?"

"Get yourself back up to full strength," Luffy knelt next to Dawn and put his hand on her shoulder with a serious expression on his face. "Did you think I wouldn't notice that you're depressed? You don't eat as much as you used to, and you're not sleeping more than five hours at a time."

"It's not that I was hiding it from you," Dawn whispered. "I'm just trying to figure everything out on my own first. Everything's just a bit hard at the moment and I need to find my purpose again."

"I will always be available for you to talk to if you need me. I promised I would be by your side for forever, no matter what. Don't shut me out, please?"

Dawn glanced briefly at the horizon and saw that there was an island in the distance coming closer quickly. She promised Luffy that as soon as Nami was once again with them she would talk with him about what was bothering her. He stared at her for a long moment before nodding and jumping down to the boat and instructing the other two males to hold on to something as they were about to land. Dawn thanked the sea-cow and slid back to where the others were. Hedwig was still above them and Dawn waved her on.

Suddenly the boat below her feet lurched and it was only Luffy's steady hand that kept her on her feet. The sea-cow dove straight down into the water as they approached the shore. The movement sent the boat catapulting through the air like a rocket and several screams echoed from the passengers.

"It's like we're flying!" Luffy declared.

"We are flying!" Sanji snapped at him.

"No! We're falling!" this time it was Yosaku who spoke and then he and Sanji were screaming even more. Dawn stared ahead and had to blink as a familiar person came into view.

"Zoro?" she queried. Luffy stared for what she could see and waved at the swordsman. Dawn closed her eyes and held onto the side of the boat as their speed decreased. Luffy suddenly pulled her against his chest and the sound of shattering wood filled her senses. She glared up at Luffy as he brushed the splinters of wood from his body before doing the same to her. Hedwig descended and perched herself on Dawn's shoulder and started to reprimand Luffy in owl-speak.

"I apologise Hedwig," Luffy said solemnly. "But I won't let anything happen to Dawn."

After that Hedwig calmed down, but she still turned her back on the pirate and focused on fixing Dawn's hair with her beak. Luffy grinned and turned back to Zoro, asking where Nami, Usopp and Jonny were.

"Oh crap! Usopp! Quick, we have to run!"

"Why?" Yosaku asked as he pulled himself from the rubble of what had once been a very nice boat.

"Arlong has him and after what I did Usopp is not safe there," Zoro explained even as he started to move.

"It's too late."

The four of them turned to face the new voice and Dawn frowned at the tears she could see on Jonny's face. He turned to Luffy and walked further forward before speaking again.

"Big Sis Nami murdered him."

Dawn felt the colour drain from her face as another similar situation came forth from her memory. Peter Pettigrew, James Potter, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin had been best friends, and then Peter contributed to the killing of one and framed another for murder. She didn't think that Nami had been capable of killing a friend, but apparently she was wrong.

Luffy spotted her expression before denying the accusation. His hand briefly rested on Dawn's arm before he walked further forward and shook Jonny. He yelled at him to never say anything like that again, and that he knew Nami.

"Quiet! Say another word and you'll regret it!" Luffy snapped as he grabbed Jonny by his collar.

"Easy Luffy," Zoro cautioned. "This has nothing to do with Jonny."

"Believe whatever you want!" Jonny cried. "But I know what I saw! Nami killed Big Bro Usopp!"

"Shut your mouth! Never in a million years would Nami kill Usopp! She wouldn't do that to her friends!" Luffy glanced briefly at Dawn, who hadn't moved and was watching silently, before his attention returned to Jonny.

"What was that about friends?"

Dawn spun around and stared at Nami, surprised by the change. The woman she had gotten to know on the Baratie was buried under a cold mask of indifference. Dawn noticed her left hand was bandaged and there was blood staining the bandage. She narrowed her eyes and tried to piece together what had happened.

"Nami!" Luffy exclaimed as he dropped Jonny and turned to face his navigator.

"What are you doing here?" Nami asked.

"What am I doing?" Luffy asked puzzled. "You're our friend. We came to get you."

"What a pest," Nami sighed, ignoring Luffy's confusion. "Friends huh? Don't make me laugh. You're just pathetic enough to deserve each other."

"Damn you!" Jonny suddenly exclaimed. Dawn watched him nervously, and noticed that the other pirates around her were also watching in case something changed. "You killed him! I watched you do it! And now…Big Bro Usopp is gone!"

"Yep, that's right," Nami confirmed with a smirk. "So why don't you kill me and get your revenge?"

Luffy started to speak up but a shake of the head from Dawn changed his mind. He remained silent as in her own way Nami expressed concern about them and asked them to leave. She was afraid of Arlong, and even after watching Luffy's previous battles with insane marines and former pirates, she had no faith that they would all come out of the approaching fight unscathed. Dawn drifted over to Luffy's side and tucked her hand in his. Behind them Zoro and Sanji got into a fight over Nami, but whereas Sanji was fighting for her, Zoro was more interested in discovering where Usopp was.

"You chose your first mate wisely," Dawn whispered. "He's just as hardheaded and loyal as you."

"Thanks," Luffy whispered. "I watched him for a while and listened to the town's rumors before approaching him. Just like you taught me."

Dawn smiled up at him before turning serious and facing Nami again. She knew that the older girl was getting desperate. Her ploys would probably have worked if she was speaking to someone who couldn't see past first impressions, but she wasn't, she was speaking to Monkey D Luffy who saw passed a person's face and into their soul.

"You're not wanted here! You don't know anything about this place! Just go away!"

Luffy discretely removed his hand from Dawn's. He, like Dawn, knew that Nami was afraid. But unlike Dawn he also knew that Nami would need them in the near future. To make a point he allowed his body to fall backwards onto the ground to rest. Everyone looked at him, but Dawn kept her eyes on Nami and was able to see the stunned look that crossed her features.

"Big Bro Luffy!"

"What are you doing?"

"Sleepy," Luffy muttered as he closed his eyes. His arms went behind his head to use as a crude pillow.

"Sleep?"

"At a time like this?"

"In the middle of the road?"

"Well, I am pretty tired. I'm not going to butt into their affairs. Not interested. But I'm not leaving either. Night."

Dawn wanted to laugh at the incredulous noises coming from the bounty hunters. Zoro and Sanji hadn't made a sound, but they would both follow Luffy's lead. They could hear the order in his explanation, even if no one else could. The order was: We're not leaving without Nami. We're going to be here for a while.

"Fine," Dawn's eyes focused on Nami again at the whispered word. "Just go ahead and die!"

That said she spun around and ran off. Dawn settled on the ground next to Luffy and maneuvered his leg so that it was propped up and she could use his knee as a pillow. Hedwig settled on Luffy's other leg that was still flat on the ground and tucked her head under her wing. For all intents and purposes going to sleep.

"You're all insane!" Jonny suddenly exclaimed. Dawn lifted her eyes to stare at him, but kept her head on Luffy's knee. Jonny turned to Zoro, appealing to him. "Big Bro Zoro, what are you thinking?"

"Did you forget that Arlong was out to kill us?" Yosaku added. "We should be running away!"

"Now that we know what Nami's really like there isn't a single good reason why we should stay on this island."

Dawn stared at Zoro, but was pleased when she noticed he was sitting down, propped up against his one remaining sword. The swordsman caught her looking at him, but just nodded before looking up at his former partners.

"My reason for staying here," he explained. "Is there. I'm staying because he's staying."

"Don't be stupid Big Bro Zoro," Yosaku scoffed. "Are you saying you want to bring her back too?"

"What I want has nothing to do with this. I don't decide who the navigator is. He does."

Dawn smiled at his response. Zoro was loyal without question, even if he disagreed, he would follow Luffy wherever he lead them. Jonny and Yosaku couldn't understand his decision, however, but they left with fond waves and Dawn didn't think that she'd be seeing them again. Silence fell on the group and Dawn relaxed. The wind surrounded her and ruffled her hair, making her smile. She would never have felt so relaxed back in her world.

"So what do you think it is?" Sanji suddenly asked. "Why was she crying?"

"I don't know," Zoro replied. "Was she crying?"

Dawn giggled softly. She knew that the two boys in front of her were just made to fight each other. Eternal rivals even though the only thing they had in common was that they were a part of Luffy's pirate crew. She listened to their banter for a while but couldn't help but wonder what instinct Luffy had that allowed him to find people willing to join his crew and trust in what he was doing. Her eyes suddenly locked on a figure in the distance and a smile danced across her features. She was about to call out to alert the others to the new arrival, but Zoro and Sanji moved before she could to attack each other.

"Ouch," Dawn murmured as Usopp came between them and caught both attacks with his face. She woke Hedwig gently before poking Luffy in the nose to wake him and standing up so that she wouldn't be in the way of Luffy's mad dash.

"He's alive!" Sanji exclaimed as he jumped back.

"Or he was…" Zoro added, also jumping back. "I hope he still is."

Usopp collapsed to the ground without a sound, and as he made contact with the ground Luffy sprung up and rushed forwards. Hedwig settled on Dawn's shoulder again as she made her way to stand next to Zoro.

"USOPP!" Luffy cried in horror. "Did Nami do all this to you?"

"Sorry," Sanji said, not sounding at all apologetic. "Zoro and I did that."

"No, you did!" Zoro hissed back at the cook.

"Luffy, you're here now," Usopp whispered. Luffy grinned and laughed.

"Yep! Sure am!"

"I'm here too," Sanji said. "Hi there!"

"One of these days I'll kill you!" Usopp snapped as he leapt to his feet. Dawn giggled. Sanji clearly wasn't going to have much of a loyal fan base from the men in the crew if he kept up his attitude. Zoro looked at her curiously, but she didn't explain her thoughts.

"Oh! You just made a full recovery!" Sanji continued.

"By the way," Zoro interrupted before Usopp could continue yelling at Sanji. "We kind of heard you were dead. Killed by Nami."

"Stupid Jonny," Luffy exclaimed, cutting in before the explanation. "He was sprouting nonsense that entire time!"

"Well, in a way, it is the truth," Usopp confirmed. "But, I'm alive, because you see she actually saved my life."

What followed was Usopp's version of how Nami saved his life…by stabbing her own hand. Dawn figured that there was a lot to the story he added to make himself seem greater, but the main aspect of his story was that Nami was a suffering hero.

"Looks to me like she's got some sort of hidden motive for hanging out with a bunch of renegade Fishmen," Usopp concluded.

"Obviously," Sanji stated.

"Fine, what do we do next?" Zoro asked. "Destroy Arlong Park?"

"Woah! Hang on just a second!" Usopp protested. "Don't you think we better find out what's going on with Nami first?"

"It's no use either way. No matter what you guys do, Arlong's rule won't come to an end."

The five of them looked towards the new speaker, a tall girl with light blue hair and a tattoo down her right arm. Usopp called her Nojiko.

"Who's she?" Luffy asked, pointing towards Nojiko. Dawn pushed his hand down, whispering that it was rude to point.

"She's Nami's big sister," Usopp explained. Sanji instantly went into womanizing mode but everyone ignored him.

"What do you mean it's no use?" Zoro asked.

"Just trust me," Nojiko replied. "Don't get yourselves involved in what's going on here. And leave poor Nami alone. I'll explain the situation."

"Situation?"

"You mean you can tell us why she joined up with Arlong's crew?"

"Yeah," Nojiko stated. "And if that doesn't get you to leave I don't know what will."

"So tell us all about it," Usopp invited. "I've got to admit, I'm curious."

"I'll pass," Luffy stated. Dawn grabbed his hand and started to walk with him. She didn't need to hear from another person Nami's past. If Nami wanted her to know, she'd tell her herself.

"I don't care about her past," Luffy explained as they passed Nojiko.

"It's not going to change our decision to help her," Dawn added.

"Where you two going?" Sanji asked.

"For a walk."

"A walk! You mean you're not going to listen to this?" Usopp cried incredulously.

"Nope. I'm taking Dawn on a date."

Dawn looked up at him in shock before smiling. Their last "date" had been back on Dawn Island two years previously before Dawn's forth year at Hogwarts. The year after that they hadn't been able to go for a walk of anything as Dawn had only turned up to show that she was still alive and inform her friend that she was being watched and couldn't stay for long. Luffy had said he understood, but Dawn knew that he was disappointed. He knew that something bad had happened, and she was only briefly able to tell him that Voldemort had returned and killed one of her classmates in front of her.

The two of them walked in silence, simply enjoying being with each other without a time constraint on their time together. Their hands were linked, but with her free hand Dawn was admiring the ring Luffy had brought for her. It was still under a glamour charm, but she didn't think she would need to keep it on for much longer. She planned on telling everyone in the crew after Nami returned to them.

"Let's find a village to get something to eat," Luffy suggested. "Maybe they'll let us take some food for a picnic?"

"We haven't had a picnic for a while," Dawn agreed. "And it's a nice day for it too."

"Yeah, oh wow! Those must be Fishmen!"

Dawn looked down the road and spotted three giants. Well, they were giant to her as she was only half their height, but they were also clearly Fishmen with their sea-creature like features. The one in the middle had six arms, like an octopus; the one on the left had a really large mouth that stuck out like Usopp's nose; and the one on the right had fins for elbows that looked really sharp. All of them had tattoos somewhere on their bodies. Luffy didn't seem to care much about their appearance however, and just kept walking passed them.

"I think they wanted us to stop and talk to them," Dawn whispered as they passed by.

"Really?" Luffy asked.

"Hey! You there! Wait!"

Luffy and Dawn turned slightly to look at the Fishmen. It was the one in the middle that had spoken to them. Luffy tilted his head curiously and asked what they wanted.

"Who are you? And what are you doing on this island?" the middle Fishman asked in reply.

"Why? What does it matter to you?"

"Well, it's just that we, don't get many visitors," the Fishman explained hesitantly. Dawn giggled. It was obvious that the Fishman had never met someone who wasn't afraid of him and didn't know how to react.

"Oh, well, my name's Luffy and this is Dawn," Luffy stated. "And we're just passing through."

"Passing through?"

Luffy nodded before turning around and continued walking. Dawn waved back over her shoulder with a smile, and was amused to see that the Fishman had pulled yellow hankies from somewhere to wave them off.

"Have a nice time!"

"Hey smartass, where are you going?" this question came from the Fishman with fins for elbows.

"Heck if I know!" Luffy replied. Dawn gripped his hand tighter in laughter. She looked at him happily and had Luffy tell her about his adventures since setting sail. Usopp had told her a little, but he had missed out on the start of the story and Luffy was more than willing to fill in for her.

Once he was done talking they arrived at the village, and the smiles dropped from both their faces. Walking up the street was a platoon of marines, but their leader looked like a rat. Dawn hated rats more than any other animal in the world. Leading the marines was a man from the village, and he looked like he had been cut up and sown back together. She looked up at Luffy and sighed.

"Stop freaking out over the pinwheel," she ordered quietly. The man from the village had had a pinwheel stuck into the top of his hat. Luffy looked at her with a sheepish smile before looking back at the marines. "Something big is about to happen. They were going after Nami."

Luffy nodded and the two of them turned around to follow the marines back the way they had come. They kept out of the way and once they arrived at an orchard they walked into the trees so they could watch out of sight. Luffy helped her up onto one of the branches before pulling himself up after her. They were invisible to the marines, but they could still clearly see and hear what was happening.

"Nami wanted one hundred million berries, didn't she?" Dawn asked as they listened in.

"Yeah, it's her goal."

"Those marines are about to take her money for themselves, what do you want to do?"

"Nami doesn't want our help just yet."

"I can get her money and protect it for her," Dawn crept further out on her branch as Nami started to attack the marines. "They'll never know that it was me."

"Be careful Princess," Luffy whispered, killing her cheek. "It's about to get very dangerous."

Dawn nodded. She reached into her expander-bag and grabbed her black cape and her wand. The cape had a hood so she flipped it over her head, hiding her face in shadow. Nami would know it was her, but the marines and anyone else who had seen her already wouldn't have a clue. Underneath them Nojiko, the man with a pinwheel in his hat, and Nami verbally thought with the rat marine, who in turn alluded to the fact that Arlong had sent him to get the money.

"I found it!"

Dawn leapt from tree to tree silently in the direction of the call. She wouldn't have long to get the money out but she would do her best for her crewmate. Nami didn't deserve this to happen to her. The rat marine beat her to the treasure a heartbeat faster than her, but he didn't see her land behind him. The other marines called out a warning but he didn't hear as he was already unconscious. With a wave of her wand Dawn repelled the marines before turning to the treasure.

"_Reducio_," she whispered. Before everyone's eyes the large box of bloodied money shrunk until it was the size of a matchbox. She summoned it to her hand and dropped it in her bag so that she wouldn't lose it. Her green eyes swept over everyone present, scaring the marines with her silence. Her eyes locked with Nami's and she nodded before running off. As she turned the corner she pulled her invisibility cloak from her bag and hid under it before anyone could see her. Hidden, she walked back to where Luffy was waiting for her. She removed both cloaks and returned to the village to wait for Nami and the others.

Half an hour later…

In the village Dawn and Luffy sat under one of the tall trees, just relaxing. There was no time for food, they were waiting. Nami hadn't yet come to the village, and it was worrying both of them as they were sure that the village was where she would head to first. Dawn looked back up the road and gasped as she saw two people running, the third being carried by the man with the pinwheel.

"Doctor! Doctor!" the man was yelling. "Nojiko's been shot!"

"By who?" the doctor asked as he ran forward.

"The marines."

"Damn, do you think they blamed Nami for what I did?" Dawn asked quietly.

"Possibly, but everyone looked shocked enough at your appearance, and Nami was pretty angry at you for taking it. I doubt the marines would think the two of you were connected."

Luffy stood from where he was relaxing and walked towards the group. Dawn remained where she was as she doubted that Nami would be happy to see her, not after her sister had been shot in revenge. As it was, Nami took her anger out on Luffy, once again asking him to leave before throwing him to the ground and running off. Luffy returned to the tree, unhurt, and took Dawn's hand.

"That went well," he commented.

"Think she's going to go yell at Arlong?" Dawn asked.

"Yep, she'll be back though. These villagers will attack Arlong Park and despite how Nami acts, she doesn't want them to fight. We'll just wait here."

"When do you think Zoro and the others will get here?"

"Soon, once Zoro wakes up he'll lead them here."

Dawn nodded and readjusted her position against the tree so that she was more comfortable. She watched the villagers in front of them run to grab some crude weapons, pitch forks, shovels and other farming instruments, plus a few knives tied onto sticks made up their arsenal. Nojiko was bandaged up so that she could fight as well, and there wasn't a sliver of doubt on anyone's faces for what was about to happen. They were all ready to die for what they believed in.

After a while Nami came back, pleading with the villagers not to fight. She tried to get them to lay down their weapons, but they'd had enough. If the marines could abandon them so easily and attempt to steal Nami's hard won blood money, then there was no point in standing by. The marines would continue to try until Nami had the hundred million. There was no point anymore.

Luffy and Dawn stood to support Nami, and down the road the other members of the Straw-hat Pirates appeared. They all stood to the side as the villagers ran passed, and Dawn went to wait with Zoro as Luffy went to Nami. The captain stood over Nami and grabbed her hand so that she would stop plunging her own dagger into her pirate mark. Nami dropped the knife in shock and started to cry. The girl tried to get Luffy to leave, throwing dirt at him, begging him to go. They all watched, waiting for their cue.

"Luffy?" Nami finally whispered, completely broken and lost. "Help me?"

Dawn watched in pride as Luffy removed his straw hat, his pride and joy, and dropped in on Nami's head.

"Of course," he told her before turning to face the rest of his crew. "That's what friends do."

Zoro stood from where he was waiting on a nearby seat, his white sword gleaming in the sunlight; Sanji lit a new cigarette, his back to the whole scene; Usopp stood from where he was sprawled on the ground, arms crossed; and Dawn twirled her wand in her fingers. They all knew what was going to come next.

"He's going to pay!"

Luffy walked passed them all, not pausing in his stride. He uttered two words that had each of them obeying instantly.

"Let's go."

Dawn inclined her head back to Nami, and Luffy nodded. She would catch up with them later, but for now Nami needed her more than the boys did.

Nami didn't even notice her arrival, crying as she was. She obviously knew what Luffy's hat meant to him and what he was telling her by putting it on her head. While she was distracted Dawn pulled some bandages and a bottle of water from her expander-bag. At the first contact of water on her wound, Nami's attention snapped to her and she asked her what she was doing.

"I'm not much of a doctor," Dawn explained. "But at the very least I can clean this wound and put a bandage on it. You can have your own doctor look at it after the fight. But for now this will have to do."

"No, I mean why are you here with me? Why aren't you with Luffy?"

"Luffy's a big boy and can, mostly, look after himself. I'll catch up later and pull him out of the water. You need me a bit more than he does."

"They're all going to be killed," Nami whispered, tears dripping down her cheeks. "Arlong's going to turn them into fish food. And it's going to be my fault!"

Dawn hit her on her head gently. "Don't be so melodramatic. If Luffy wanted to he could just bring you back to the ship and take you away from here. He doesn't _have_ to fight Arlong, he _wants_ to. He wants you to feel safe when you come with us."

"I've been trying for years to kill Arlong," Nami continued. "But no matter what I do it's never enough. He's too strong."

"He's obviously never met Luffy then," Dawn replied unconcerned as she tied the bandage to Nami's arm. "My fiancé is unbeatable when he puts his mind to it."

"Fiancé?"

"Oops," Dawn muttered, freezing slightly. Nami turned to face her and with a sheepish smile Dawn removed the charm on her hand so that Nami could see her ring. Nami gasped in surprise and held her hand so that she could get a better look.

"When did this happen?"

"On the Baratie," Dawn admitted. "My birthday gift. We were going to tell everyone once you were back with us. There never seemed to be the right moment before. We're pretty sure that Sanji has figured it out, Zoro might be dense but he knows that my relationship with Luffy is different from everyone else's, and Usopp…he definitely doesn't know yet."

"Did Luffy pick this on his own?"

"He said he found it on one of the islands you had travelled to. I don't know if you were with him at the time, but he'd been carrying it around in his pocket since he found it. It symbolizes eleven years of friendship and a future of unity. I'll always stand by his side, and he will always stand by mine. That is our promise to each other."

"And you chose to stay with me rather than go off with him?"

"I trust Luffy with all my heart," Dawn put her remaining belongings away and stood up. "But now that I've looked after you I will go and make sure that he hasn't done something stupid, like falling in the water or something."

Nami nodded and allowed Dawn to pull her to her feet. Together, the two girls walked towards Arlong Park, one with hope and the other with fear. Above them flew Hedwig, her white feathers reflecting the sun light and letting them know where she was. Neither knew what to expect once they arrived.


	5. Chapter 5

**This is the second part of the previous chapter. If you've jumped straight to this one you're going to have to go back and read that one first. XD**

* * *

><p><strong>The Gate Master<strong>

**Chapter 5**

* * *

><p><strong>At Arlong Park some time later…<strong>

"I see Luffy has acted true to form," Dawn commented as she and Nami arrived at Arlong Park. The villagers turned to look at them in shock as they looked around at the carnage that used to be Arlong Park. Fishmen where lying defeated everywhere, Zoro was dealing with the octopus Fishman, Sanji was fighting with the finned elbow Fishman, and there was no sign of Luffy anywhere. Dawn gave another curious scan, spotting the one called Arlong sitting back and enjoying the show, but there was no sign of Luffy.

"So, where is my captain?" she asked.

"Arlong threw him into the water," one of the villagers explained. "Genzo and Nojiko have gone in after him to help out, but his feet were incased in the cement. I don't know what they hope to do."

"Moron," Dawn muttered. "Hedwig, keep an eye on Nami for me?"

Hedwig hooted her agreement before landing on Nami's shoulder. Sure that Nami would be fine, Dawn walked forward until she was near the water. Arlong spotted her but instead of moving he watched her curiously. Dawn greeted Zoro and Sanji briefly, asking how they were and frowning at the sight of Zoro's wounds.

"Don't overdo it Zoro," she cautioned him. "Luffy won't be happy if you get yourself killed before defeating Hawkeye."

"Worry about yourself kid," Zoro snapped. "I'm fine. Go back and stand with the others."

"My future is in that pool," Dawn replied as she took off her shoes and put them to the side. "You seem busy enough up here, when you need me I'll be down there."

"What makes you think that you can get to him?" Arlong asked. Dawn looked over her shoulder and grinned.

"I'm practically immortal, didn't you know? Try and stop me and you'll be the one to die."

That said she cast a bubblehead charm over her head and jumped into the water. She swam straight down and saw immediately where Luffy had landed. Nojiko and Genzo looked at her in shock but all she did was cast another bubblehead charm over them and Luffy before forcing the water to be expelled from Luffy's lungs. His eyes snapped open and stared at her in relief, Nojiko and Genzo looked at her in amazement.

Luffy grabbed her hand sluggishly, the effect of the water slowing him down. His eyes flickered over her shoulders and that was all the warning she got. She spun around and noticed an unfamiliar Fishman swimming towards her, but his identity didn't matter to her. She had had experience fighting underwater and knew just what her body was capable of and how her spells worked.

Luffy let go of her hand as she pushed up towards the Fishman. It was up to Nojiko and Genzo to free Luffy's feet now that she had made it possible for them to breathe. She held her wand in front of her, green eyes waiting for the right moment to attack.

"_Reducto_." A stream of bubbles escaped passed the bubblehead charm, but the effect of the spell was the same as she had practiced. At point blank range the _reducto_ spell had hit the Fishman in the chest and opened up a wound about the size of her head. Blood obscured her vision, but despite the effectiveness of the spell, her opponent was a Fishman and she knew that he was still alive.

"_Depulso_."

The Fishman flew up towards the surface.

"_Sectumsempra_."

Cuts instantly appeared all over the Fishman's body.

"_Diffindo_."

The Fishman lost his hand.

By this time they had made it to the surface and the Fishman showed no hesitation in escaping the water and stumbling over to Arlong. Dawn surface silently behind the Fishman and gracefully escaped the water. Every single conscious person was staring at her in amazement and fear. The Fishman was rambling at Arlong, but he was so hysterical that not a single word could be understood.

"Does this mean you've had enough?" Dawn asked. The Fishman screamed in fear and tried to run away. Dawn shook her head and raised her wand at his retreating form.

"_Petrificus Totalus_."

The Fishman's limbs froze instantly and he dropped to the ground like a stone. Dawn walked closer to him, keeping an eye on what was happening around her. It looked like Zoro had won his fight, but Sanji was still going. His fight would be over soon by the look of his opponent. Dawn's opponent was well and truly defeated, she just needed to make it final, but she wouldn't kill him. She rolled him over onto his back and sat down on his wounded body. From the corner of her eye she noticed Arlong stand up.

"I could kill you, you know?" she started. "But I won't. You're just going to go to sleep and when you wake up, hopefully you'll be in marine custody. But know this…if we ever meet again…I won't be so forgiving."

The Fishman's eyes stared at her, the only part of his body that could move. He was terrified. He had never met a person like her and possibly never would again. Dawn pressed her wand against his chest and leant down to whisper in his ear.

"_Stupefy_."

Both spells would wear off in about an hour, plenty of time for Luffy to finish the fight. She stood without a sound and returned to the water with the intention of helping Luffy. In her way, however, stood Arlong. She paused so that Arlong could speak, but when he didn't she started to get impatient and was about to make her way around when Sanji finished his fight and sat down with an exhausted sigh.

"You Dawn, are really scary," Sanji stated as if they were in the middle of a picnic instead of a battle.

"Why's that?" she asked.

"What did you do to him?" Zoro asked.

"He's just sleeping. When he wakes up he'll be in a world of pain, but I imagine he's also going to forsake being a pirate and go home…wherever that is for him."

"Who are you?" Arlong asked slightly curious, and slightly fearful. "You appear to be human, but no mere human can bring a Fishman down in the water with as much ease as you did."

"I am human," Dawn assured that Fishman. "But I'm not from around here."

"You would make a great asset to my crew."

"Your crew is dead, dying or unconscious and you will soon be one of the above as there is no way that Luffy is going to let you live. So I must decline your offer."

"If you don't join me, you will die."

"Good luck with that. I'm bound by prophecy. There is only one person in this entire universe that can kill me, and you are not him."

Arlong roared his frustration and leapt at her. His speed startled her, but Dawn was a Seeker, the best that Hogwarts had ever seen, and she saw the movement in time to dart to the side. She noticed Sanji jumping into the water at Zoro's prompting, but that was all she noticed as she was forced to dodge another leap from Arlong. Whilst she had heard the prophecy, she didn't want to tempt fate to end her life before she had the strength or desire to end Voldemort's. She also restrained herself from fighting Arlong herself as Luffy had called his head first. He also had captain's privileges to take down the opposing crew's captain.

Her last dodge was too slow and Arlong caught her around the neck, lifting her several metres above the ground. Her wand was still in her hand, but she made no move to use it. Several voices around her cried out in horror, but there was only one voice she was listening for. That voice came not a minute later and she smiled.

"Get your hands off my fiancé!"

Only at the familiar voice did Dawn move to free herself. She aimed a mild stinging hex at Arlong's hand so that she could drop to the ground and braced herself for the rescue she knew was coming. Arlong had yelped in shock as her spell connected with his hand but was unable to move in time to grab her again before Luffy did. She held his arms as she flew backwards, only to stop as she crashed into his chest.

"Hello Princess," Luffy greeted as he set her down. "You alright?"

"I am now," Dawn replied with a smile. "I'll just wait over here with the others. Don't die."

"I promise," Luffy whispered before kissing her forehead. Dawn walked back to where Zoro was lying as Luffy walked over to Arlong. Nami was still with the villagers with Hedwig on her shoulder, so Dawn turned her attention to Zoro's wound. He had made it worse by fighting as he had, and he would need help getting away from the danger. So she levitated him off the ground and started to walk to the villagers.

"Little Sis Dawn! Watch out!"

"Dawn!"

"NO!"

Dawn spun around and saw the danger heading her way as if in slow motion. She was at the wrong angle to block Arlong, and her wand was focused on Zoro. To use it meant to drop Zoro, and with his injuries that meant death. Her eyes went wide and she raised her left hand as if to ward him off. But even as she moved she knew it was useless. There was no way that she would be able to escape it.

White flashed before her eyes moments before Arlong shrieked and darted to the side. She took a closer look at the scene before her and noticed that her beloved owl had swooped in to her rescue. Hedwig wasn't on her own for long as Luffy was there to help. But he was moments too late as Arlong had used his unbreakable nose to cut across Hedwig's chest. Dawn set Zoro down quickly and reached out to catch her owl.

"Hedwig!" she cried in horror. "No! You can't die!"

"Dawn! Get out of there!" Nami called. The orange haired girl ran towards her with several of the villagers to get Zoro out. Nami physically lifted Dawn from the ground and dragged her away as Arlong started to fight with his teeth. While the doctor went to Zoro to see if he could be saved, another man with veterinary experience came towards Dawn to inspect Hedwig. To Dawn, the wound didn't look deep, but Hedwig wasn't moving. Her wand was in her hand, but there wasn't a single spell she could think of that would help her. All the magic in the world couldn't help her.

"This wound doesn't look too deep," the man told her quietly. "It looks to me that she moved back at the last minute. It probably saved her life and if I bandage this then she'll be good as new in a few days. She's just unconscious at the moment."

Dawn sighed in relief and pulled her noble owl into her arms. Tears were in her eyes, but now she no longer felt the need to seek revenge. With the health of her owl assured, Dawn returned her focus to the fight in time to see Luffy put a set of Arlong's teeth in his mouth. She hit her head in embarrassment.

"Luffy! Hedwig needs rest! Stop mucking around and end this! You're making everyone here nervous!"

"Hedwig's alive?" Luffy asked as he pulled the teeth from his mouth.

"Yes, and you had better be too! Focus seriously!"

Luffy nodded and discarded the teeth. He spun around to see Arlong charging at him with the intention to bite him in half, and raised his arm to protect his face. Arlong's teeth clamped down on his arm and his agonised screams echoed across the battlefield. Dawn gasped in fear, her free hand covering her mouth in horror. Luffy continued to scream in pain as he moved around to dislodge Arlong. His legs stretched out and he kicked Arlong in the head, in the process freeing his arm. His screams stopped as they separated and he dropped to the ground.

"You should know better than to aggravate a wild animal!" Dawn snapped at him. "Haven't I taught you anything!"

"He's part human!" Luffy told her without moving. "He'll get careless and sloppy in his movements if I continue to irritate him!"

"He's more dangerous than any bandit you've come across!"

"I'll be fine! You protect the villagers!"

"Stubborn idiot," Dawn muttered as she cast a protective shield around everyone around her. Nami reached out to touch the shield and was startled as her hand went right through it. Dawn ordered her back. The shield would stop objects hitting them, but it didn't stop anyone or anything from leaving the protective bubble.

Luffy stood and turned his attention to Arlong, who had disappeared. Nami informed him that the Fishman was in the water, and Luffy stood on the edge of the pool, eyes searching for his opponent. Dawn refrained from calling out again. She recognised his stance as someone who was no longer mucking around and waiting for the next move. Any conversation now would distract him.

Arlong shot out of the water faster than a torpedo and it was only at the last minute that Luffy was able to dodge. Instead of being hit dead on, he caught a glancing blow as Arlong shot passed him into the building behind him. Arlong flew at him again from multiple directions, Luffy barely dodging each time. The villagers were all gasping in fear and shock, and Nami was shaking so badly that Dawn was tempted to stun her to make her relax. They didn't understand that Luffy was studying his opponent's speed, that he was ignoring them so that nothing would distract him.

"Hey Luffy! Hide!" Usopp suddenly cried as Arlong retreated into the water again. "Arlong went into the sea again!"

"Hurry up Big Bro! You've got to hide from him!" Yosaku added.

"He's setting his sights on you right now!" Jonny continued.

"Get out of there!" Usopp repeated. Luffy stood at the edge of the pool again and glanced at them briefly before clenching his teeth.

"I won't hide!"

"Stop being so stupid!" Sanji called from the other side of the battlefield. "Go run for cover before you become a target!"

"No way! I'm not running anywhere! I'm going to catch him and break his nose! Come on! You shark!"

Dawn shook her head at the protests erupting around her. She made herself comfortable and pulled a bottle of water from her bag. She took a deep drink before passing it to Nami who looked like she needed it. Nami looked at her in incredulity, shaking her head at the offered drink. Dawn shook her head and went back to watching Luffy, dropping the bottle back in her bag as she did so. He was braced and ready for contact.

"He knows what he's doing," Dawn muttered. "He's been judging speed and strength so that he can come up with the proper defense. Don't worry so much."

Luffy stretched his fingers out before him and as Arlong rocketed from the water and collided with him. Her heart stopped for a moment before she realised that Luffy's rubber abilities acted as a flexible shield that in turn created a slingshot, sending Luffy flying up to the top story of the building. He clung to the side of the building like a spider and waited for Arlong to make his next move.

Arlong came up from the balcony, sending them both flying, but Luffy managed to get on top and use his feet as a whip, literally pinning Arlong to the ground. Dawn flinched. She strengthened her shield in case Arlong decided to come at them, but otherwise watched as Luffy began to fall towards to ground, watching Arlong as he dropped.

Arlong's eyes opened.

"His eyes, I've never seen them like that," Nami whispered in horror.

"Luffy made him angry," Dawn said with a nod. "He made him snap."

Arlong stood up again and before Luffy hit the ground he grabbed the rubber man's hair and spun him around like a deformed ribbon. He released Luffy after enough speed had been achieved and Luffy flew in the building head first, breaking numerous walls along the way.

"Woah," Luffy announced as he freed himself from the rubble. "That was crazy. It didn't actually hurt but I can tell he's like really…mad."

Dawn shook her head as Arlong ran at Luffy again, hand extended. Luffy leapt out of the way easily, but it wasn't Luffy that Arlong was aiming for. His hand went through the wall, but when he pulled it out there was another weapon in his hand. This one was a massive six pronged saw blade. Nami screamed next to her, she had seen the weapon before. Yosaku and Jonny were suitably horrified, and screaming their lungs out in the back of the crowd.

"The saw blade!" Nami screeched.

"That thing is gigantic!" Jonny added.

What followed next could only be considered the destruction of the building. Luffy would jump and Arlong would follow with a swing of his blade. There was no chance that the building would be able to be repaired after the fight, it was structurally damaged beyond repair. On the top floor, with nowhere else to go, Luffy jumped inside the nearest room.

"That's the room that…" Nami began. Dawn looked at her in confusion.

"That's your room?" Dawn asked her quietly so that no one else could hear her. Nami nodded her confirmation. "Arlong's a dead fish then."

"Why?"

"He's looking at your prison cell, there isn't a single chance that he will let Arlong live now. He's gone quiet, that's always a bad sign."

"What's he going to do?" Nami asked. Dawn didn't reply, she just pointed so that everyone could see a desk flying out of a hole in the wall and crash down on the ground. It was followed by a bookcase, and a chair, another bookcase, and lots of paper. Nami covered her mouth as tears dripped down her cheeks. Dawn just smiled as Luffy continued to destroy Nami's room. He always knew what to do to make a person feel better. All he had to do now was win.

From the top of the building Luffy's foot and leg rose, before rapidly descending down all levels of the building and causing it to crumble once and for all. Dawn strengthened her shield to keep the villagers safe, but as they started to run backwards she backed up as well so that the shield would move with her. Nami was calling out for Luffy, but Dawn was silent. After everything that happened there was no way that her fiancé would be defeated by a falling building.

"Arlong Park…has fallen," the doctor muttered.

"What went on in there?" Yosaku muttered.

"Luffy?" Usopp spoke fearfully. Silence fell across everyone as they waited for movement. Dawn dropped her shield finally and smiled as the rubble on the top of the pile erupted outwards and a human appeared. Cheers rang out behind her and she knew, without turning, that Jonny and Yosaku were crying.

"He's just standing there," Usopp observed. "What's wrong?"

"He's going to make a scene," Dawn explained quietly. She saw Luffy take a deep breath and waited patiently for whatever his message was going to be that day.

"NAMI!"

Nami looked up in shock, fear on her face. She was afraid that Luffy would kick her out and never speak to her again. Dawn shook her head and took her hand in comfort.

"Nami! You will always be my friend!"

Nami broke down in tears, and with her one free arm Dawn pulled her into a hug. Around her the villagers broke up into groups, cheering and crying in joy, before running off to the other towns to break the news that Arlong had been defeated. Dawn laughed as Nami gently pushed her away. She laughed until she had tears of her own and quietly walked off from the group.

"Ok, hold it right there!"

Dawn stopped her retreat, as did some of the slower villagers, and stared at the marines. She sighed and looked back towards Luffy. He had his hat back on, and Nami was already by his side, as were Usopp, Sanji and Zoro. They were all watching the marines curiously.

"What a lucky day today is," the rat marine remarked. "Very nice. I saw the entire fight and I must say good work. I can only assume your victory here was some sort of bizarre accident. I never thought the Fishmen would lose to riffraff like you and your crew. However, now that Arlong is out of the picture, I'll be taking all of the money I was supposed to give to him, as well as all the treasure in Arlong Park. Now drop your weapons! Colonel Nezumi of Branch 16 gets all the credit!"

"I see you're trying to rain on these people's parade. Now that's just plain rude."

Everyone looked at Dawn who was standing behind the marines. She had put Hedwig on the ground so that she wouldn't get anymore hurt than she was, but that was all she had done to prepare herself. Her wand was raised in preparation to attack the marines, and as one all the underlings leapt away. They didn't get far as that was where the boys were waiting for them, but a nod from Luffy allowed Dawn to attack Nezumi by herself.

He ended up a broken and bleeding man on the ground at her feet, and she hadn't moved any further.

"You'll be sorry for this. I promise you that," Nezumi muttered in a daze.

"He's still talking?" Sanji asked in amazement. "That's better than the Fishman."

"I wanted the Fishman unconscious," Dawn explained. "This one still has a lot to answer for and would have been useless unconscious."

She watched as Nami walked up to Nezumi before kneeling down to talk to him calmly. Dawn watched in amusement. Another reason she hadn't knocked out the marine was because she knew that Nami would like some revenge.

"This is for shooting Nojiko, and for tearing up Bellemere's tangerine orchard."

That said Nezumi went flying out across the pool from the force of Nami's swing of her staff. Dawn whistled in appreciation, using her hand to shield her eyes. She was impressed.

"Thanks Nami! That felt good!" Nojiko called with a smile. Next to her Genzo disagreed.

"A thousand more and we'll call it even!"

Nezumi swam back to the shore, where Nami was waiting for him. She pulled at his whiskers so that she knew he was paying attention.

"What you're going to do is clean up after those Fishmen," she began. "You're going to help rebuild the town of Gosa, and you won't lay a finger on the money or valuables inside Arlong Park. That's the island's money now. Got it?"

"Right!" Nezumi whimpered. "Ok! Whatever you say!"

With his promise in her ears she released him. He wasted no time in swimming backwards. Once he was of a sufficient distance away, his confidence seemed to return. Dawn walked to Luffy's side and he draped his arm over her shoulder to bring her closer to him.

"I'll get you, you pirates!" Nezumi cried. "Luffy is your captain right? Well mark my freaking words Rubber Man! Major things are going to happen! And you! You witch! It's Dawn right! You'll pay too! Cause you made me angry! I swear you'll both regret this! I'll get my revenge! Just you wait and see!"

"Major things are going to happen?" Sanji asked as Nezumi continued to swim away.

"Yeah, how does he know I'm going to be King of the Pirates?" Luffy asked curiously.

"That's not what he means at all!" Zoro snapped. "Are you really that dumb?"

"Hold on!" Usopp cried as he pointed to Nezumi's retreating form. "What next? Are we in super big trouble or what? What do we do?"

"Relax Usopp," Dawn told him. "Everything will work out."

She pulled herself away from the group as Usopp began to regal everyone with his tales of what happened to him. She gathered up Hedwig in her arms like a small child and brushed her hair back behind her ear. Her eyes travelled to Luffy who waved at her with his signature grin, and she couldn't help but smile. In her arms Hedwig hooted at her and in that moment Dawn really believed what she had told Usopp. Everything would work out. Somehow, everyone had survived and now was the time to finally relax and prepare for the next step of the adventure.

* * *

><p>The first thing Luffy wanted to do once they all made it back to the village of Cocoyashi was eat, but Dawn wouldn't let him and dragged him off alone first so that she could bandage up his wounds. Zoro was taken off to the doctors, and Sanji and Usopp went with him to keep him company. Dawn was pretty sure that Jonny and Yosaku were also there sleeping off their "grave wounds". But Luffy wouldn't and it was for that reason that he allowed Dawn to look after him.<p>

"You're lucky that you're so durable," Dawn muttered as she wrapped a bandage around Luffy's bitten arm. "Any normal person would have been ripped to shreds after being bitten like this."

"He was pretty angry, wasn't he?" Luffy agreed. Dawn had already bandaged his neck and stomach so it was just his arm left. His other wounds were just superficial, bruises and the like, and they would heal on their own without help.

"I wish you would take a little more care with your life," Dawn continued. Hedwig was perched on her shoulder but had been forbidden from flying so that her injury could heal.

"That sounds weird coming from you," Luffy said with a laugh. "You, who couldn't care less about her own life, asking someone else to take care. What makes my life more important than yours?"

"You have a great destiny here."

"Not a good reason."

"You have friends here."

"So do you."

"Your family would be upset if you died."

"I would be upset if you died."

"You _have_ a family."

"You _are_ my family."

Luffy pulled Dawn close to his chest and simply held her. There were no more excuses that she could make, so Dawn allowed herself to be held.

"You are what is most important to me," Luffy whispered in her ear. "I don't know everything that has happened to you, but that's fine, I don't need to know. I will be here for you to talk whenever you're ready to. You may have some prophecy saying that you need to kill this psycho but he's not here, I'm here and I need you to be happy. I will keep you safe where they haven't, I will protect you where they didn't, and I will make you happy like they never have. Don't be afraid anymore. Please?"

"They all died for me," Dawn told him. "My parents, Cedric, Sirius…they sacrificed their lives so that I would live, when more than anything I wanted to take their place. I've wanted to die for so long, but it was you who kept me alive. Even though we haven't seen each other in ages, when I see my bracelet or necklace I know that you are waiting for me and would be disappointed if I ended everything without saying goodbye. So I endured, but I don't think I can anymore."

"Then you will stay with me for forever."

"Don't let me go," Dawn pleaded.

"Never," Luffy promised. "I will never leave you."

Dawn cried into his chest. Luffy said nothing else, just moved around a little so that they'd be more comfortable. Neither knew how long they just sat there, no one bothered them or came looking for them, and Hedwig kept silent watch. After Dawn's tears had trickled down to nothing, Luffy casually dropped his hat on her head. It always made her feel better, and it made her smile. Luffy stood slowly and helped Dawn to stand and placed Hedwig back on her shoulder. He wanted to check on his other crew members and get something to eat.

"Will you be fine now?" he asked. Dawn nodded and pushed him towards the party. She had other plans to occupy her time for the next three days whilst everyone ate and partied. So with her plans in her mind she walked off to where the ship was and waited.

Three days later…

Dawn walked into the village with Hedwig fully recovered on her shoulder. Over the past three days she had snuck into the village every now and then for food, and Luffy brought her extra when he would check up on her, but otherwise she had steered clear of the party-goers. This time though, she grabbed a bottle of whatever was being drunk and made her way over to where Sanji and Zoro were sitting. Luffy had danced by them moments before, mouth full of some kind of meat, before running off after more food.

"How are you boys doing?" she asked once she was closer. Zoro and Sanji looked up at her, surprised by her sudden appearance. Sanji made his love-struck expression as he registered who was talking and leapt to his feet.

"Dawn-Flower! Where have you been? We've missed you!"

"We're fine, a few more days of rest and everything will be as good as new," Zoro replied, cutting across Sanji easily and without a care. "Luffy just ran off that way."

"I know, he's looking for more food now that he's not searching for food for me," Dawn replied as she passed over the bottle to Zoro and sat down next to him. Sanji looked disappointed, but as his name was called by the village girls he ran off, once again happy.

"He was getting food for you?"

"Yep, I was on the ship getting ready to set sail again," Dawn explained. "Among other things of course, but Luffy worries that I don't eat enough so he's been bringing me plenty of food. Most of it I stuck in the kitchen, but it's nice that he cares."

"You're getting married to him, I'm pretty sure that he cares about you a lot."

"I've known him for eleven years now, he's the only reason that I'm not dead. There is no one else on this planet that I would want to spend the rest of my life with. He makes me happy."

"He can be confusing at times, but he does care a lot."

"Yes, I'm glad you can see that."

"I wondered what he was doing when he bought that for you," Zoro said as he indicated her ring. "I watched him pick it out and buy it while the others weren't looking and couldn't figure out what he wanted it for."

Dawn giggled before turning her attention out of the small alley they were in. Usopp was attempting to sing about himself, Jonny and Yosaku were dancing with various partners, and Sanji was flirting with several women at the same time. There was no sign of Nami, but that didn't surprise her.

"So," she started. "You think Nami's going to come back?"

"Not a doubt in my mind," Zoro replied instantly. "Whether she knows it or not, she doesn't belong on land. She belongs on the sea."

Dawn nodded before standing. Zoro watched her for a moment before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep. Dawn left him there and walked up to where Nami's house was. She still had the older girl's hard won money and needed to return it before Nami got really angry at her.

Sounds became softer the further she travelled. The road had been well used recently, so there wasn't any problems in finding the way. She knew that Nami would be at her house, there wasn't anywhere else she would be the day before departure. The lights were off in the house, but that didn't stop Dawn from knocking and waiting. It seemed like a lifetime before the door swung open to reveal Nami holding a bag of equipment.

"Dawn? What are you doing here?"

"I came to return this to you," Dawn explained holding the shrunken treasure. "I forgot earlier, but when I remembered you were off wherever you were and I couldn't. I knew you'd be here tonight though so I waited."

Nami accepted the tiny box with a confused tilt of her head. Dawn subtly flicked her wand and the box grew larger until it was at its proper size, all its treasures intact. Nami smiled in relief and asked for help to pull it across the ground so that it was in the middle of the room.

"What's your plan?" Dawn asked. "Are you coming with us tomorrow?"

"Would Luffy leave without me?" Nami asked. "If I didn't turn up?"

"Not a chance," Dawn said with a smile. "He didn't defeat Arlong so that you could stay here the rest of your life. That ship won't leave until you're on it."

Nami sighed in relief. She pulled out a pen and paper and wrote a short note before pinning it to the box of treasure. With that done she handed over her bag of equipment and asked Dawn to put it on the ship for her so that she could act without its influence in the morning. Dawn accepted the bag and asked what Nami was planning.

"It's a surprise."

Dawn laughed before swinging the bag onto her shoulder and leaving. Nami still had a few things she needed to do on her own, and Dawn wasn't going to stand in her way. Instead she made her way to the _Going Merry_ and stowed Nami's bag in the crew quarters so that they wouldn't leave without it. She didn't return to the party, instead she curled up in the crow's nest and fell asleep, Hedwig watching over her as always.

* * *

><p>"That's the last one right?"<p>

"Yeah."

"Got everything?"

"Yep!"

"Alright, we're stocked up with everything we need. I think we're good to go."

Dawn looked down at her crew mates from the upper deck, out of their way. Luffy was standing off to the side, overseeing everything with Sanji next to him. Zoro and Usopp were the ones stocking up everything and moving it around so that it was stored properly. The small crew had even acquired some tangerine trees, a gift from the grateful villagers so that they would have fresh fruit all the time on their journey. There was no sign of Nami though.

"You know," Usopp began as he placed the last crate. "We've only been on this island a couple of days, but it feels more like a lifetime."

"Yeah," Luffy agreed with a grin and a laugh. Dawn laughed as well, the musical sound making the other men smile. As Usopp assured them that they had everything they moved to the edge so that they could bid farewell to everyone. Jonny and Yosaku were standing below, each in a pose that some could call thoughtful, others dangerous.

"We can't thank you enough for everything you've done for us," Yosaku began. "But we've got to go back to our regular jobs as bounty hunters."

"So this is goodbye," Jonny added. "I hope we get to meet again someday!"

"See you 'round," Zoro told them both with a nod.

"Goodbye!"

"Yeah," Usopp declared happily. "Now it's time for us to get going!"

"But we can't leave yet!" Sanji protested. "We've got to wait for Nami!"

"Well, maybe she's not coming," Zoro stated, deliberately provoking the cook.

"What? Why not?" Sanji asked angrily, marching straight up to Zoro's face. "If you try to hit on her again I swear I'll break your freaking neck! You got it?"

"Why would I do something like that?"

"She might not even be coming," Usopp muttered as Sanji started yelling again. "After all, she has achieved her goal. Nami doesn't have to be a pirate anymore. She might be better off if she stayed here on this island with all her friends and family."

"What about me dammit?" Sanji cried, turning away from his tirade of Zoro so that he could yell at Usopp. Dawn giggled from where she was still perched. Sanji continued to yell, this time at Luffy.

"Without Nami on board I have a 58.72% less reason to stay with you people on this stupid pirate ship!"

"Hey," Luffy stated pointing his finger. "I'm still upset with you about the raw ham melon."

"58.72%?" Dawn asked. Sanji turned to her instantly and his tone changed from condensing to reassuring.

"I stay for you and my dream Dawn-Flower. But you're already attached to this loser here so my chances of winning your heart are significantly less than my chances of winning Nami's."

Dawn giggled again and looked down the road to see if Nami was going to make her appearance soon. Luffy followed her gaze and as Nami came into view he alerted the others to her presence. Sanji was particularly delighted at her appearance and called out to her, in turn alerting the gathered villagers of her location.

"Set the sails!" Nami called. She started to run, and with a sigh Dawn realised that Nami didn't want to have a long goodbye, this choice in departure would make it fairly quick.

"I don't get it," Usopp muttered. "Why is she running?"

"She said to set sail," Luffy told him. "Set sail!"

Zoro pulled up the anchor immediately and Dawn helped with the sails. Sanji and Luffy hadn't moved, but Usopp did go off to direct the rudder.

"So, are you sure you want to let her leave like this?" Sanji asked the captain.

"Not my decision," Luffy replied. "She does what she wants."

Dawn walked to the back of the ship to wait for Nami to make her appearance. When the other girls ran through the crowd Dawn nearly started laughing as she realised what she was planning to do…and why she had left the hundred million berries in her house. Instead she shook her head and waited until Nami was on deck before speaking to her.

"Was that necessary?" she asked. Nami just grinned at her and pulled up her shirt so that the numerous purses and wallets she had just stolen dropped to the deck at her feet. The cries from the villagers, which had been pleading and begging, turned angry as they realised what Nami had done. Zoro and Usopp glared at her for her actions, but Luffy and Sanji laughed their approval. Nami leant on the railing and called out her goodbyes. Despite her actions, she would miss her friends and family, and it would be many years before she saw them again.

* * *

><p><strong>So what do you think? It'll probably be a while to the next one, but I'm working on it and the other stories I've got up. Up next will be the meeting with Smoker and the world's reaction to Luffy's bounty. Yay!<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**The Gate Master**

**Chapter 6**

* * *

><p><strong>On the <strong>_**Going Merry**_**…**

"I think we should write to your grandfather, let him know of the engagement."

Luffy grimaced. He and Dawn were the only conscious crew members, everyone else was still sleeping and the moon was just setting. It had been their intention to watch the sunrise together and contemplate their future. They didn't have a date for their wedding, it could be years away still and Dawn was only sixteen, but they still wanted to have some kind of plan.

"Wouldn't it be better for him to hear it now from us than to hear it from the marine grapevine?"

"Do you know where he is at this moment?" Luffy asked his fiancé.

"No, but I'm sure I'll be able to find him in the newspaper after Nami's read it. He is a pretty popular and famous marine. Once we have his location Hedwig will be able to find him. He might want to come to the wedding."

"Maybe he will, maybe he won't. How is Hedwig? Don't you want her searching for your godfather, let him know that we're coming?"

"She's recovering," Dawn sighed and settled more comfortably against Luffy's shoulder. They were on the figurehead of the _Going Merry_ and the sky was slowly lightening around them. "We don't know where Sirius is, he could be on the other side of the world and in this climate Hedwig wouldn't be able to make the journey. This world is also mostly water and she wouldn't be able stop and rest when she needed it. By having a specific location, preferably in the East Blue like us, Hedwig would be able to make the journey, rest, and return unharmed."

"Will Sirius be at our wedding?"

"If he's still alive…I would like him to be there. The same for your grandfather and Ace, I can't wait to see him and tell him that you finally proposed. Do you know where he is?"

"Nope, and your godfather is still alive. Don't give up hope."

"Prisoners don't tend to last more than a year," Dawn whispered. "I don't even know where Impel Down is. All I have is a map of the complex, but without a world map I wouldn't have a clue where to go…unless I ask your grandfather."

"We'll find it, and we'll be the first pirates to break in and out. You'll see."

"I trust you Captain."

Silence fell on the two of them as the sun appeared on the horizon, lighting up the sky with many different colours and showing the way forward. The smattering of clouds glowed pink, red and yellow, slowly brightening to white. Behind them, Sanji made an appearance but being half asleep as he was he didn't notice the two on the figurehead. Zoro was sleeping against the mast, and Sanji kicked him on the way to wake him up. And with that move the silence was broken.

Dawn giggled lightly as Nami's voice echoed from the girls' cabin, yelling at the boys for waking her up. Luffy laughed as well, but made no attempt to move from his comfortable position. Dawn sighed and called Hedwig down to her. The wound was healing, but Dawn knew that the injury caused Hedwig pain.

"Hey girl," Dawn whispered. "Do you think you're up to a delivery? I don't have a location yet, but once I do I would like you to take a letter to Luffy's grandfather. We want to let him know about our engagement."

Hedwig hooted, and Dawn knew that her owl wouldn't let her down when the time came. She hugged Hedwig to her chest before standing up so that she could make her way to the kitchen for something to eat.

"Luffy, I'm going to be working on the letter today, so whatever mischief you want to get up to could you make sure that the noise is kept down?"

"Sure thing Princess. Now go and eat something. I'll be there in a minute."

Dawn nodded and went off to see what Sanji had prepared for them, knowing that she and Nami would have slightly better quality food than the boys. Being a girl sometimes had excellent benefits. Usopp nearly collided with her as he ran to escape the boys' room in his eagerness to eat, but missed due to Dawn sidestepping at the right moment. He was prattling on about a new weapon he dreamed about and wanted to spend the day creating, something along the lines of hot sauce.

Sanji served her breakfast with a smile as she sat down next to Nami. The older girl was eating slowly as she woke up, her gaze drifting to where her tangerine trees were planted. The day before Luffy had expressed interest in the little orange fruits, and it seemed that only now was Nami remembering. She spoke before thinking, and Sanji dashed to her rescue promising to protect the trees from their captain. Dawn smiled as she fed Hedwig fruits from her plate, with that challenge in place she knew where Luffy would be for the rest of the day.

A few hours later Dawn was relaxing on the deck with some parchment scattered around her. Nami was waiting on the railing for her newspaper flown in by bird, Usopp was mixing and matching different explosives for his new attack weapon, Zoro was sleeping again, and Sanji and Luffy were wrestling near the tangerine trees. It was only a matter of time before the chaos started. Hedwig hooted her disapproval at the newspaper bird when it arrived, and Dawn spent several moments ensuring that her owl understood that she would never use anyone other than her to deliver mail. Placated, Hedwig allowed Dawn to focus again on her work in time for Usopp to scream out in agony from getting sauce in his eyes as Luffy crashed into him.

"That must be my cue to stop working," Dawn told her owl. Hedwig hooted as Dawn gathered her belongings and took them back to her room. Before returning she grabbed a container of fresh water and a washcloth so that she could help Usopp. The sharpshooter was ordered to lie down so that Dawn could rest the cold cloth on his eyes to alleviate the burning sensation. Nami had pulled out her sun lounge so that she could read the paper comfortably, and Luffy was arguing with Sanji now that the wrestling match was over.

"The world sure is a turbulent place," Nami muttered. "They just had another coup in Villa."

Dawn turned to look at her as two slips of paper fell out of the paper. She wondered what they were as Luffy's eyes had gone wide as he glimpsed the picture. Nami dropped her paper and screamed as the two papers landed face up on the deck. Usopp removed the washcloth so that he could see just as Zoro bounded over with his swords drawn, not quite awake but not completely asleep. Dawn moved closer so that she could see the pictures and gasped as she registered what was in front of her.

"Bounty posters?" she asked. "Luffy I can understand, but why is there one of me?"

"You were pretty intimidating at Arlong Park," Zoro told her as he sheathed his swords. "That marine guy said that he would make you pay."

"They're going to call me Dark Witch for the rest of my life," Dawn stated sadly. The poster in her hands showed her pushing her hair back off her face and smiling off camera. There was only one person she would smile at like that, so the camera man must have taken the photo when she was staring at Luffy. Further down the poster were her new title, Dark Witch Dawn, and her bounty of 25 Million. Zoro stood over her shoulder and whistled at the bounty. Dawn handed the poster to Luffy so that he could look at it while she stared at his.

"Monkey D Luffy, wanted dead or alive, 30 Million," she read aloud. "Why didn't they give you a title?"

"He's going to be known as Straw-Hat Luffy for the rest of his life," Zoro told her reassuringly. "Even if that isn't printed on his bounty poster, everyone we've met so far has called him Straw-Hat."

"You look beautiful Princess," Luffy announced as he stared at the poster in his hands. "Now everyone will know of your beauty."

"They'll also know that she's spoken for," Usopp added. "Your ring is there for everyone to see."

Luffy took his poster back and held the two of them side by side so that everyone could stare at them. He was so excited to be finally identified as a wanted criminal, and Usopp was excited that the back of his head was seen in Luffy's poster. Whilst the boys celebrated, Dawn went and sat next to Nami who was panicking a little at the prospect of bounty hunters on their trail. She nudged the older girl and smiled reassuringly.

"Luffy would have been disappointed not to have a bounty before entering the Grand Line. This way he knows that we're on the right path."

"We're going to be hunted down by bounty hunters," Nami insisted. "This is no time to be relaxing in the East Blue. I'm going to pull out my sea charts and find the fastest route to Lougetown."

Dawn watched her leave, and in her absence relaxed on the sun lounge. The only thing she was disappointed about was being called a Dark Witch, she was sure it was because of her clothes and hair, but in her own world being called Dark was paramount to being sentenced to Azkaban for the rest of her life. She scratched Hedwig's chin softly and decided to focus on other matters. She would definitely need to send a letter to Vice-Admiral Monkey D Garp now; even he would notice that she was engaged.

"You're still an angel to me," Luffy whispered in her ear. Dawn looked up at him and smiled. "Don't listen to what others say, how we think of you is all that matters. We're your family now."

"Love you Luffy."

"Love you too," Luffy kissed the top of her head. "Let me know when you're finished with grandpa's letter, I want to add something to it as well."

Dawn nodded but made no move to get up and get her supplies. She was comfortable doing nothing. Luffy nodded to her before returning to the other boys and dancing around in excitement. Dawn watched him for a while before closing her eyes. She would try to sleep for a few hours and then go back to work. She wanted the letter done before they reached Lougetown.

* * *

><p>Dawn woke at lunchtime, or what she assumed was lunchtime. The smell of Sanji's cooking penetrated her senses, but so did angry yells and the sound of another ship. Luffy was critiquing the other ship, and from his tone Dawn knew that there was no threat.<p>

"Are you guys blind? Have you forgotten the face of Ironfist Fullbody?"

Dawn approached Luffy and Usopp and stared at a battered marine vessel. The man who was yelling at them had red rimmed eyes, rosy cheeks from drinking, and his suit was rumpled from lack of proper care. She wrinkled her nose at his appearance.

"Oh yeah!" Luffy cried happily, pointing at him. "You're that marine guy I saw one time! Are you stranded? Need some help?"

"Quit fooling around!" Ironfist Fullbody snapped. "Our meeting here spells the end for you! Monkey D Luffy, you're under arrest!"

"Oh, he's a bounty hunter," Dawn muttered through a yawn.

"Yep, that's me alright!" Luffy cried. "You got one of Dawn as well?"

"I'm not interested in the Witch!" Ironfist snapped again. "It's you who ruined my life! Take aim, men!"

The sound of a cannon being aimed at them echoed loudly and Nami's voice complaining from the other side of the ship reached them. Usopp started to panic, but Luffy and Dawn merely stood there and watched curiously.

"They're aiming right at us! This is bad!" Usopp cried, drawing Zoro's attention. The swordsman stood up with his sword unsheathed and politely asked Luffy if he could handle the marines. Usopp was quick to agree and pulled Luffy out of the way, muttering about how Luffy would only mess things up. Dawn remained near the railing, but at Zoro's curious look she gave a brief wave before walking over to where Luffy was being dragged. The cannon fired, but the cannonball never hit the _Going Merry_, it split into two parts upon meeting Zoro's sword and exploded harmlessly above the water behind them.

"I was trying to take a nap," Zoro growled at the marines as he put his sword back into its sheath. Awe, amazement and fear were felt from all witnesses, and Dawn gave a brief clap in support for the performance. The marines got ready to fire another cannonball.

"Oh this is bad, real bad," Luffy stated. Dawn followed his gaze and tilted her head to the side in confusion. There was no fear in Luffy's voice, so therefore she felt no fear either.

"What is? What's bad?" Usopp asked fearfully. The cannon in front of them fired, but the cannonball never made it out of the cannon as it had exploded prematurely. Dawn shook her head slightly to remove the ringing and was able to hear Luffy's casual remark about how the cannon had cracks in it. The marine's vessel bumped up against the _Merry_ and the marines prepared to board for battle.

Dawn pulled Usopp out of the way so that Luffy could fight and blow off some energy. Ironfist tried to punch him, clearly not knowing or forgetting about Luffy's rubber abilities. Luffy gave the marine a head-butt, Sanji appeared in his pink apron with a hot frying pan in his hand, terrifying the marines and causing them to jump ship. Luffy readjusted his hat on his head as Nami's voice once again berated them for making too much noise. Dawn walked over to see where the other girl was, noticing that she had brought out another sun lounge.

"Nami!" Sanji called at the sound of her voice. "I have finished preparing you a delicious meal! There's some for you as well Dawn!"

"Oh! I'm starving!" Luffy cried at the mention of food. Dawn laughed and hooked her arm around Luffy's, leading him to the kitchen.

"So that was the first bounty hunter," Dawn noted as she sat down to eat. "How many more do you reckon we'll meet before making it to the Grand Line?"

"I don't know, ten…maybe."

"I hope not!" Nami shrieked.

"How far to the Grand Line?" Dawn asked before Nami could continue on her spiel of devastation if anyone else came looking for their bounties. Nami paused before standing to grab on of the maps on the shelf. She spread it out in the middle of the table so that everyone could see as they ate.

"Soon, I should think. The only way I can see to enter the Grand Line is through this place here, Reverse Mountain," the Navigator pointed to a particular spot on the map but Dawn was unable to make heads or tails of what was in front of her.

"What a pain," Zoro muttered. "There's got to be some way around that thing."

"There's not," Sanji stated as he put the last plate on the table. "From what the Old Man told me, that's the only place to enter."

"Well how come?" Usopp asked.

"Cause it's really dangerous."

"Yeah, but how come?"

"I told you everything I know! Gees!"

"See the reason–" Nami began before Luffy cut her off.

"Hey! I got an idea! Why don't we just sail straight into it?"

Dawn slapped her head at the comment. She may not have grown up in the same world as Luffy, but she knew enough stories and history to know that no ship could "just sail straight into it".

"Are you really that clueless?" Nami asked with a glare.

"My way sounds a lot funner!" Luffy declared. "Plus it would feel so much better to just dive right into it, you know?"

Dawn snagged a piece of meat from the table and threw it at Luffy to distract him. His eyes followed it intently before he caught it with his mouth. Dawn smiled at Nami and continued to eat her lunch, Hedwig laughing on her shoulder.

"Talking to you drives me completely insane," Nami growled. Dawn giggled at the comment but didn't say anything as Luffy jumped right back into the conversation.

"First off, we need to stop at an island, time to pick up some meat. Need meat!"

Dawn agreed with the decision, as did Nami as she pointed to a small dot on her map that may have been an island. Everyone crowded around to get a better look at the map.

"There's a famous city on this island, known as Lougetown."

"I'm pretty sure I've heard of it before. It's the city of the Beginning and the End," Zoro stated. Luffy nodded and gave a quick look to Dawn. Garp had told them all about Lougetown and how it was where the former Pirate King Gold Roger had been born and executed. Ever since hearing that story Luffy had wanted to go so that he could stand in the same spot as the former King, see what he had seen before his life had ended.

"It's the town where the old King of the Pirates, Gold Roger, was born, and killed," Nami explained. The boys looked on grimly, and Luffy repeated what he imagined was the most important information.

"It's where the King of the Pirates died."

"Well?" Nami asked, smiling as she already knew the answer to the question.

"Yeah," Luffy said. "Let's do it. This was the man who had the One Piece, everything the world has to offer. I need to see where he was born and executed."

* * *

><p>Dawn finished her letter the Monkey D Garp just before dinner, but didn't give it to Luffy until after everyone had gone their separate ways after the evening meal. Luffy accepted it and put it aside so that he could work on it when he couldn't sleep. The anchor was dropped and Luffy disappeared. Dawn joined Nami in their room and for the first time was able to have some quality girl time with the Navigator.<p>

The two of them spoke about their pasts, Dawn about her relatives, Nami about Arlong. The two even found time to talk about Luffy, and how they met. It felt good to talk to another girl, and when Dawn finally retired for the night she was happy. No matter what would happen in the future she would be prepared.

The next day Dawn learnt where her future grandfather-in-law was, and was pleased that he was in the East Blue. Luffy explained the story of Captain Morgan to her, and that was how she understood why Garp was nearby. By lunchtime Hedwig had disappeared with a letter clutched in her talons, searching for Vice-Admiral Garp. Dawn watched her go with only a little worry. She had reapplied the cooling charm before Hedwig left, but the weather was far from ideal for her. Luffy briefly stood by her side, his silent presence reassuring her in a way that words alone couldn't, before retreating back to the rest of the crew to muck around. She could tell that they were curious about where Hedwig was going, and the strap of paper in her talons, but neither she nor Luffy gave an explanation.

Shortly after that they docked off to the side of the harbor, mainly because of Nami's paranoia, but also because pirates couldn't just dock where merchants and marines docked. Personally, Dawn didn't care and just wanted to stretch her legs on solid ground that didn't move. The others must have had a similar desire to her, for barely a minute had passed between docking and walking ashore. Luffy led the way, with Dawn holding his right hand, and Nami walking behind his left shoulder. Usopp was walking behind Dawn, and bringing up the rear were Zoro and Sanji, for once not bickering with each other.

"Woo! This is going to be so fun!" Luffy announced, his eyes going wide as he read the sign at the entrance to the town.

"Every pirate headed to the Grand Line docks here to resupply," Nami explained. "It has everything you could possibly need."

"If that's the case then I'm going to go on a shopping spree," Usopp declared, already mentally cataloging everything he needed and wanted. "I'll bet they have all sorts of stuff here."

"I'll be able to stock up on fresh produce," Sanji added, before a sly smile appeared on his face. "And fresh women."

Dawn shook her head before looking over her shoulder.

"Do you think they have strawberries here?" she asked him. Sanji's gaze turned thoughtful. He promised her he would look into it, before turning to Nami to ask if she had any preferences. Nami shook her head with a smile.

"You think there'd be a Swords Smith around here?" Zoro mused. Nami, who he was standing next to, turned at that comment with a greedy look in her eyes.

"I thought you were broke? Are you going to steal a sword?"

"I have some gold if you would like to borrow some Zoro," Dawn interrupted, flashing a quick grin in Nami's direction. "I don't charge interest."

Nami glared at her, but all the glare did was cause Dawn to laugh. She'd had worse glares directed at her from Professor Snape. Zoro jumped at the offer so Dawn let go of Luffy's hand so that she could pull a few bars of gold from her expander-bag. At the sight of the gold Nami dropped her glare and instead started to swoon in excitement.

"Well, I'm going to find out where they kill people!" Luffy declared. "I've got to see where the King of the Pirates was executed!"

Dawn looked up briefly as Luffy disappeared, a frown on her face for a moment, before she returned her attention to her gold bars.

"Hey wait! We have to pick a meeting place!" Usopp called after the retreating figure. "Oh, that's not good."

"I'm not sure how much these are worth, but I think you should be able to get a sword for some of these," Dawn explained as she handed over three bars to the swordsman. She pretty much ignored Usopp, but the movement of the bars drew everyone's attention back to her and away from their captain.

"Are you kidding?" Nami asked her. "Can I see one? Please?"

Dawn handed over a gold bar easily enough. She did have a couple hundred in her bag, letting Nami borrow one wouldn't cause any harm. The Navigator held the bar as if it were the most precious substance in the world, analysing it from every angle.

"This bar alone must be worth 1,000,000 Berries," she explained. "The weight, the presentation, the size…where did you get this? How many do you have?"

"Um, a lot?" Dawn replied nervously. "When I decided that I was coming here, I brought half my fortune with me so that any problem I encountered wouldn't be a monetary problem. That, and I know how much Luffy eats. My bank manager was very considerate when I asked for the coins to be melted down into bars."

"You, are my new best friend," Nami declared. "Can I have one?"

"Nami!" Usopp scolded. "That's Dawn's money."

"Swap it for Berries," Dawn told her, ignoring Usopp's gob-smacked expression. "And buy me something nice. These are the only clothes that I have."

Nami looked horrified at the thought of only one outfit, before expertly sizing up Dawn so that she could buy everything in her size. Sanji disappeared after that to the market place for food, Usopp left shaking his head in being unable to understand girls, Zoro followed Nami to get the bars swapped for Berries, and Dawn turned and followed the path Luffy had taken. She felt Zoro watching her as she left, making sure that she would be alright, but otherwise started to hum as she looked for her fiancé.

She decided that she would follow the noise, for Luffy was usually the centre of attention. She somehow ended up on the docks, and staring at another pirate crew. Her nose wrinkled in disgust and she backpedaled slowly to try another direction. She wasn't able to go far when the captain of the crew, or the man she assumed was the captain, spotted her and had his men grab her. She sighed in annoyance but allowed herself to be dragged around.

"Well aren't you a beauty?" the captain leered. Dawn raised an eyebrow at him, unimpressed.

"When did you last bathe?" she asked carelessly. The captain looked at her in shock, before snarling in anger. His hair was greying rapidly, except for his long but narrow mustache, and the underside of his long and curved beard. His nose was horrible pointed, narrowing to a sharp point, and his breath smelt something awful. He leant in close so that she was almost whispering in Dawn's ear.

"You won't be so cocky when I'm through with you," he murmured, before straightening and addressing his crew. "Put her in the brig! How about it boys! No need to be shy on my account. I, Gally the Crescent hereby proclaim all of your food to be of service to the future King of the Pirates! So don't bother trying to hide anything!"

Dawn rolled her eyes. There was no way that this old fool would ever make it as the King of the Pirates. At the rate he was going he wouldn't even make it to Reverse Mountain. His men started to drag her off and she considered making a fuss, but from the corner of her eye she spotted a man smoking two cigars at the same time. He had a stance about him that just screamed "I'm a Marine!" so she remained calm and waited for him to make his mood.

"Hey," he said, his voice low and gruff. "Who's in charge here?"

"I think you need to leave!" Gally told him rudely. His eyes had been watching Dawn with confusion, but the entrance of another unwelcomed guest distracted him.

"You're Monkey D Luffy?" the Marine asked, a touch of disbelief in his tone. Dawn's eyes widened slightly. Word spread fast if the Marines were already looking for their crew when they hadn't been in town for long. Yet even with the touch of disbelief that the Marine had in his question, Dawn couldn't help but giggle at the thought of Gally being mistaken for her captain.

"You're not worth thirty million," the Marine continued, his eyes flickering to Dawn briefly. "I'd guess you're worth about as my grandma's false teeth."

At that Dawn did laugh. Gally looked at her in annoyance before giving her a back-handed slap across her face. Her laughter died instantly and she stared at Gally with unwavering green eyes. He wasn't looking at her, but his crew could see the cold anger in her eyes and unconsciously stepped away.

"Don't you dare speak to me that way!" Gally cried, ignoring his crew. "Got it?!"

Dawn's eyes remained fastened on Gally's form, but once his expression turned to horrified she turned to look at the Marine in time to see smoke ooze from his body. She deduced that he had the power of a Devil Fruit, clearly one that turned his body to smoke, and her mind started to analyse the best way to defeat a man who could essentially become air at a thought. Gally and his men didn't stand a chance, and while they tried to run they were captured in the smoke and tied up shortly after. A thicker cloud of smoke lifted Dawn from the fighting, and though she didn't fight it she did remain tense until she was put back onto solid ground.

Once Gally and his men were defeated and the Marine had become completely solid again, she bowed to him and whispered her gratitude.

"Are you alright?" the Marine asked in concern. Dawn looked up and smiled at him. When his eyes rested on her right cheek she lifted her hand to feel the damage.

"He hits like a girl," she told him honestly. "My uncle used to hit me harder. What's your name?"

"Captain Smoker," the Marine told her, his eyes darkening at the thought of hitting a child. For that was what Dawn was to him. She didn't look like the sixteen year old she was, she looked years younger, barely old enough to be on her own.

"Why'd you call that man Monkey D Luffy?" she asked him.

"I heard that he and his crew were in Lougetown," Smoker replied. "It is my duty as a Marine to uphold the law and prevent filthy pirates like him from corrupting the innocent. His mere existence as a pirate is an offence and I intend to be the one to put him down."

Dawn's eyes went wide as she heard the passion in the man's voice. He clearly had never met a "good pirate", if such a thing existed, but he clearly believed in what he was doing and as such he was a formidable opponent. A young Marine, this one far more impressionable, appeared behind Smoker with awe in his eyes and when he spoke Dawn felt like kicking him.

"That's amazing captain, you captured Luffy all by yourself."

"You're a complete idiot," Smoker told him, without turning to face him. The young Marine's expression dropped from being insulted by his idol, to confused as he tried to understand what he was being told. Dawn did her best to keep her expression neutral, but she knew she must have failed as Smoker smirked at her in agreement.

"This isn't Luffy, any one could tell that. If this pirate was worth thirty million then I'd become a pirate," Smoker continued to explain. "And didn't you tell me before that there was a partner, a woman as dark as night that could kill with just a thought? Where is the woman in this crew?"

"Um," the young Marine looked at Dawn quickly, and then down at the Wanted Poster in his hand. Dawn quickly realised that he was looking at Luffy's poster, for otherwise she would be tied up as well. "So, where's Luffy?"

"And what's your hurry?" Smoker asked. "He'll be here soon enough."

"I'm here."

Dawn, Smoker, and the young Marine turned at the new voice, and Dawn had to physically stop herself from hitting her forehead. The idiot that they were talking about had just appeared in front of them, but from the lack of reaction it was clear that Smoker hadn't ever seen a picture of Luffy. Luffy turned around, confused and lost as usual, before spotting the tied up pirates and the Marines, but not Dawn.

"Hey, can you help me?" he asked Smoker.

"Is he a member of this garbage?" Smoker asked the young Marine.

"No, I don't think so, not him."

"Hi!" Luffy greeted when he was closer. His eyes swept over the group and landed on Dawn. "Angel!" he cried in delight. "What are you doing over here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Dawn replied, glad that he had used one of her many nicknames instead of the name he had blessed her with. Luffy bounded over with a happy grin on his face. Once he was in front of her his smile faded and he looked at her new bruise with anger.

"Who did this?" he asked her softly. Dawn pointed out the tied up Captain Gally, and Luffy wasted no time walking over and punching him. He walked back satisfied and took her hand. His attention returned to Smoker, who had watched the byplay with interest but didn't interrupt.

"Do you know where they execute people around here?" Luffy asked.

"The Execution Platform," Smoker replied.

"Yeah, I know, I just can't seem to find it."

"I haven't seen you before," Smoker continued. Luffy looked at him in confusion, not registering the question at first. Then a smile spread across his face.

"Ha, this is my first time here on the island. The town is a whole lot bigger than Fuusha Village, and it's really spread out too."

"So why go the Platform?"

"Personal quest: to see where the King of the Pirates died."

Dawn tightened her grip on Luffy's hand even though her expression didn't change. She knew that Smoker was smarter than any other person they had come across, but her fiancé didn't appear to be too worried, yet.

"I guess you don't know," Luffy continued after several moments of silence. He returned Dawn's tight grip easily enough and started to drag her away. "Oh well."

"Hold it," Smoker ordered. Dawn and Luffy looked back over their shoulders in time to see the smoke from Smoker's cigars moving against the wind into one of the alleyways next to the docks. "Follow the smoke kid."

"Great! That way?" Luffy cried. "See ya later! Come on Angel!"

"Thanks again Marine Captain!" Dawn called back as she was pulled along. She laughed a little as the wind rushed through her hair. As they ran she explained to Luffy where the others were, and what had happened down on the docks. Luffy was annoyed that his rash actions to run off had led to Dawn getting hurt, but Dawn just smacked his shoulder for thinking that she couldn't look after herself.

"I'm not allowed to worry?" Luffy asked.

"No," Dawn told him. "You tell me not to worry about you all the time, I'm now telling you to return the favor."

Luffy nodded as they slowed to a walk. He looked around for a while, but they were lost again. Luffy sighed in disappointment. They continued to walk, winding in and out of alleyways, up and down stairs, but still they were no closer to finding the execution platform than they were when their ship first docked on this island.

It was Dawn who first noticed the sign. _Bar Gold Roger_ looked rundown and decrypt, but still Luffy insisted on investigating it. The bar was down a winding staircase, but inside was very little light. Only a hand full of candles was lit, and one little old man sat in the corner nursing a glass of alcohol and staring at a large skull with a crack in the forehead. The walls were covered in bounty posters, some really old and some not so old at all. Dawn grinned when she spotted a picture of Ace hidden in the corner where few people would see it.

"Excuse me, do you work here?" Luffy asked, staring at the old man. Dawn turned her attention from the posters so that she could look at the old man as well. "The sign hanging outside said this place was called the Gold Roger. How'd it get that name?"

"Scram," the old man said, offering no explanation. "You should leave. This isn't a place for unaccompanied children. Besides, we're closed for good, starting today."

"You're going under?" Dawn asked sadly.

"I'm not going under!" the man protested. "I decided to shut it down myself. I'm retiring."

"Sorry, I just wanted to know about the name," Luffy told him, walking further into the bar and sitting on one of the dusty old bar stools. Dawn settled next to him, a delighted smile appearing on her face when she realised that the stool she was on could spin.

"You see, I'm looking for the Execution Platform, but we're lost," Luffy continued. "Could you tell us the way?"

Dawn spun the chair all the way around, half an ear on what Luffy was saying, and the other ear on the old man. She was amused when Luffy lost his train of thought as he spotted the giant skull.

"It's a huge skull! That is so cool!"

"Killer Giant, one of the most feared villains to ever haunt the waters of the Grand Line. He sent hundreds of pirates to their deaths over the course of his life. But it only took Gold Roger a single blow to put the behemoth down for good."

"Gold Roger killed him?" Dawn asked, stopping her chair spinning for a moment.

"With lightning speed!" the old man assured her. "You see, Killer Giant was known for using his massive blade, but it didn't matter. The whole fight was over before he could even raise it. And here's the wound that did it."

The old man pointed to the scar on the skull, and both Luffy and Dawn were suitably impressed.

"Killer Giant was a terrible waste of human flesh anyway. But he proclaimed with his dying breath: 'Gold Roger, I take my hat off to you. You will forever be, the King of the Pirates.'"

"Awesome!" Luffy cried, his excitement causing Dawn to smile broadly as well. Hearing stories of a legend, one Luffy had idolized ever since Red-Haired Shanks spoke of him, was more than Luffy had ever hoped he'd get. "Tell me more!"

"Eric Down, the man known as King; Silver Silver, the world's greatest gunman; the giant Gowns Brothers…they were famous for their strength, for they were indestructible demons, feared by everybody."

Luffy was shaking with excitement, and Dawn almost feared that she would have to stun him to get him to calm down. The old man was getting more engaged with his stories, seeing as he had an enthusiastic audience.

"But not Gold Roger." The old man sighed sadly, lifting his glass and staring at the amber liquid. "No one wants to hear my stories anymore."

"But we do!" Luffy protested. "Keep talking!"

"Don't rush me," the old man ordered. "Now, Gold Roger, in those days, I suppose even now, he's the only man I've known not afraid of entering the Grand Line. Back then, the Grand Line was a mysterious place. Those that chose to enter there were never seen or heard from again. It was a sea of evil, that people feared, and few ever considered approaching.

"But Gold Roger, he set out that day as if he were going sightseeing. Then, when I'd heard that he'd conquered the Grand Line I wasn't surprised. I was happy to hear that he was the one to who finally survived those evil seas. On this day twenty-two years ago, Gold Roger died on that platform. And that's how it started. That's when it all began, the so-called Great Pirate Era where everyone with a boat claims to be a pirate. But look around this once great town, I bet you won't be able to find yourself a real pirate. There's no one here but cowards and scum. Men brave enough to take the journey to the Grand Line have all disappeared from these waters. There are no more true pirates left…that's why I'm closing down."

"I'm going to the Grand Line," Luffy told him. "Hell yeah! Gold Roger's so cool! He's exactly how a pirate's supposed to be. That's why I'm here…to go to the Grand Line. Get my hands on the One Piece. And then…be King of the Pirates!"

"Those are some pretty big words, even more so because you're in this bar."

"Luffy's been dreaming of being the King of the Pirates since he was seven," Dawn explained. "To be the freest man in the world, where no one can tell you what to do or who to be, you can be exactly what you want."

"And you're going to be by my side," Luffy told her, smile down at her lovingly.

"There's nowhere else I'd rather be."

The old man stared at the two of them with something approaching wonder and awe in his eyes. It was like he couldn't believe that the two of them were in front of him. Maybe he thought that he was finally hallucinating about real pirates returning to the world.

"Young ones, if there are still people like you out there, should I hold off on closing this place?"

"I don't know. It could just be me," Luffy told him honestly.

"That's right, it could just be you," the old man said with a laugh. "In that case, let's have a drink. I haven't been in this good a mood in some time."

"Um, I don't drink alcohol."

"Neither do I," Dawn added. "It turns people into monsters.

"Hahaha, alright, then how about this?" Three glasses of milk were put onto the bar top. "Let's raise our glasses together, to the eternal King of the Pirates."

"Here's to the king of the pirates!" Luffy cried as he raised his glass. Dawn raised hers as well and clicked it against the other two.

"Here's to living our dreams."

As one the three of them drank their milk in one go. Dawn laughed once her glass was empty and wiped off her milk mustache with her wrist. From that point on the old man was very accommodating to them, going so far as to give them directions to the execution platform. With their hands linked again, Luffy and Dawn bid farewell to the old man and continued their adventure in Lougetown.

"Hey, Luffy, I think this is Main Street," Dawn said as she stared at the wider street they had just appeared on. Luffy grinned.

"Awesome," Luffy said simply as they started to walk down it. "I wonder if Gold Roger ever walked down this street like we are."

"Probably, after all, he was born here," Dawn answered. "And he was probably led down this street on his way to his execution. It is almost a straight line from the platform to the main docks."

"But we weren't at the main docks," Luffy protested, hearing the quip at his inability to tell what direction he was going in. "Nami wanted us to dock somewhere else."

"I know," Dawn told him with a smile. "What do you plan to do once we find the platform?"

"Climb it of course," Luffy declared. "I want to see exactly what Gold Roger saw before he died."

"You realise, of course, that when you become King of the Pirates you may very well be executed in this same spot."

"I know, cool right?"

"I don't want you to die."

"I won't, not for a long time yet. I have too much stuff to do first, and we need to free your godfather."

"Thank you," Dawn whispered.

"You don't need to thank me," Luffy told her. "We're a team, when we work together there will be nothing that can stop us."

The two walked in silence for the rest of the way. Dawn knew instantly when Luffy spotted the platform for he had stopped walking and had an abnormally serious expression on his face. Dawn looked up at the platform as well, and wondered why the World Government had built it so high. It's not like anyone who was about to be executed could go far. She was certain that marines would normally position themselves in the buildings surrounding the square with sniper rifles to prevent an escape. She was also positive that Monkey D Garp had been on one of the buildings during the King's execution so that he could watch but not mingle with the common people gathered to watch.

"This is it," Luffy whispered. "This is where they executed the King of the Pirates. This is where the greatest pirate who ever lived…died."

"And the place where the great pirate age began," Dawn told him.

"Yeah…Well, I'm going to climb it. You want to race?"

"No, I'll wait here for you," Dawn told him. "Have fun!"

Luffy laughed and skipped over to the platform and began to climb the scaffolding. Dawn perched herself on the water fountain and watched in amusement as Luffy didn't think about his rubber abilities and tried to climb it like a normal person. He started to gather an audience. She would have laughed, except for the fact that someone familiar had appeared at her side who wasn't looking to join her in her amusement.

"Hey! You! Kid!" Marine Captain Smoker called up to him. Dawn sighed and reclined even further. She knew that she had little chance of escape at the moment, but maybe she could watch Smoker's fighting abilities she could come up with ways to defend against them. She also wondered what the inside of a marine prison looked like and if it was anything like Impel Down's cells.

"I'm kind of busy right now!" Luffy called down to Smoker. "Can it wait a minute?"

"You're him? The guy with the East Blue's biggest bounty?"

"Yeah, that's me!" Luff said proudly. "Monkey D Luffy. Have you heard of Dawn as well? She doesn't get enough recognition from those we come up against. It's very rude to ignore her."

Smoker looked down to his left where Dawn was sitting. Her face had gone bright red with the attention that Luffy was directing towards her, and her right hand had lifted to hide her mouth and nose, as if to hide her embarrassment.

"I'm Captain Smoker of the Marines," Smoker said, turning his attention back to Luffy and ignoring Dawn. "And I'm in charge of keeping the peace in this town. You're under arrest."

"Arrest?" Luffy asked in disbelief. "Forget that. See, I'm going to the Grand Line so that I can become King of the Pirates. And I refuse to get arrested in this town."

"Then you'll have to go through me," Smoker warned him. "You don't get to enter the Grand Line unless you can beat me first. That's the rule of this town. Of course, that's assuming you'd be stupid enough to fight me."

"Oh boy," Dawn sighed. "This should be interesting."

"So you're saying that I can't get into the Grand Line unless I beat you first?" Luffy asked for clarification. "Well, I guess I'll have to beat you."

"Let's get started," Smoker told him.

Dawn watched as Luffy stretched out his arm and tried to punch Smoker. Unfortunately for him, his legs were tangled up in the scaffolding and all he managed to do was reenact what happens when you stretch a rubber band and let go. He bounced back into the platform with a bang and complained about his legs.

"Hey! Come on! Get down from there!" Smoker ordered him, annoyed.

"I'm not up here because I want to be," Luffy told him.

"Yes you are," Dawn sighed.

"I'm up here because I'm stuck."

Finally, Luffy managed to free himself and launched an attack at Smoker. He then proceeded to get his butt kicked, badly. Smoker didn't even use his Devil-Fruit power for Dawn to analyse. She sighed in frustration, and wondered how bad their situation would get before they got out of it. Smoker taunted Luffy, telling him that he would never make it as the King of the Pirates, which of course Luffy refused to believe and stretched his leg out in his classic leg-whip.

He missed.

His leg shot passed Smoker and Dawn had mere moments to roll to the side as the rubber leg wrapped around the water fountain many times over. And then he was gone, flying through the air as his attack momentum sent him careening from the square. All that could be heard was his fading cry as he flew over streets and houses easily.

"Crap! I missed!"

Dawn watched him go before turning her attention to Smoker. She smiled cheerfully at him, wondering what he would do now that Luffy was gone and she was alone. He glared at her, though she could see that his anger was directed more at her being a pirate than anything else.

"You could have taken care of that other pirate on your own, couldn't you?" he asked her coldly. Dawn nodded.

"Yep, but you were there and I wanted to see what you would do."

"And now?"

"Well, I know that at my current ability level I would be defeated in no time at all," Dawn explained easily. "I need to think of something that can combat the effects of Devil Fruit powers. Smoke is tricky, but if I have enough time I'm sure I could think of something to freeze you in your tracks."

"Will you resist?"

"Not at the moment. I really want to see what a marine prison is like. Are they all the same or is each prison different depending on where it was built? Have you ever been to Impel Down? What are the cells like there?"

"You don't really seem like someone who could kill with a look," Smoker interrupted.

"That's because you haven't made me mad," Dawn said, rocking back on her heels and linking her hands behind her back innocently. "And killing with a look? Who came up with that? At most I could probably make a grown man cry or wet his pants."

Smoker looked at her in disbelief, taking in the bruise on her cheek and child-like appearance. It was clear to her that he couldn't imagine her as a cold blooded killer. Still, she did have a bounty, and it was his duty to uphold the law in the best way he saw fit.

"You, Dark Witch Dawn, are under arrest for disturbing the peace."

Dawn nodded and held her hands out in front of her. She assumed that Smoker would place cuffs on her, but instead he reached forward and lifted her so that she was draped over his shoulder. Aside from the startled scream as she was lifted, Dawn made nary a sound as she was carried through Loguetown to the marine base.

She wondered what prison was like?

* * *

><p><strong>I'm alive! My only excuse is that my other fanfiction account was occupying my time. I don't know why I created two, but oh well. If you like my work, you may want to check it out while waiting for updates. Ravenclaw-Girl28 is my other name.<strong>

**On a side note, are there any parts of the One Piece series that you do or don't want to see? Coming up is the Millenium Dragon Arc, but I'm not sure as to whether or not include it. I will update my other stories, I'm just waiting for the Water 7 Arc to come out on DVD. This month, I think.**

**Thanks for sticking with me!**


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